Jamal Murray Called His Own ‘Bang!’ While Pointing At Mike Breen

For much of Thursday’s Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets were stalled in the mud offensively. After scoring 132 points in the Game 1 victory, Denver had just 76 points through three quarters, while Murray followed up his own 31-point performance with 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting before the fourth frame. Then, Murray and the Nuggets caught fire. They scored 32 points in the final period, including 22 on 6-of-7 shooting from Murray. Denver outscored Los Angeles 32-24 in the fourth quarter to win the game 108-103, and now holds a 2-0 lead in this Western Conference Finals matchup.

During his fourth-quarter explosion, Murray went 4-of-5 beyond the arc. As he hustled his way back down the floor following his fourth triple, he pointed toward ESPN’s Mike Breen on the broadcast desk and yelled “bang!” — a nod to Breen’s signature call commemorating key shots at key moments of games.

Murray’s rarely played as someone short on confidence, and this is a sensational show of awareness to know who’s calling the game and what he’ll say after a big three. He certainly didn’t seem to lack it in Game 2, despite the slow first three quarters. Denver needed him to keep firing and pull the offense out of its massive slog. Murray accomplished exactly that, powered the Nuggets to a 2-0 series advantage and provided everyone with an enjoyable moment amid his dazzling scoring stretch.