Towards the end of the first half on Wednesday night agains the Denver Nuggets’ matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, Jamal Murray went to contest a shot on the wing and sprained his ankle after landing on Terry Rozier’s foot. Murray getting bumped and bruised is nothing new, but it was definitely strange to see him down on the floor for that length of time before eventually requiring assistance to leave the court.
Luckily for the Nuggets, they had just called up P.J. Dozier from the G-league and he was available and ready to play that night. In the second half, Dozier came in as the backup to Monte Morris, and let’s just say, he definitely impressed. Not only did he impress fans, as they witnessed him score 12 points in just 13 minutes on 5/7 shooting, but he also impressed Murray, who must have been watching from the locker room while getting treatment on his ankle.
In case it wasn’t obvious by now, this is just one more piece of evidence that the Nuggets are an extremely tight-knit group that supports one another no matter what. Regardless of the fact that Murray must have been hurting physically and mentally in that moment, not being able to do anything but watch his team perform without him, he still made it a point to support Dozier in his first stint with the Nuggets.
What’s also obvious about this team is that the front office sure does know how to pick their players. Hopefully Murray comes back healthy as soon as possible, but it’s no doubt a relief for the organization to know that they have players that can step up and play valuable minutes while he recovers.