Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray left Monday night’s loss to the Golden State Warriors with 50.6 seconds remaining after suffering a knee injury that looks serious.
Murray was driving to the basket, but his left leg appeared to give way as he planted it and tried to go up for a layup. He crumpled to the ground in significant pain, holding his left knee. After being down for a while, Murray was helped up, and chose to not take the wheelchair being offered to him before heading to the locker room with assistance.
Awful.
Murray emerged as a star in the bubble, and is a hugely important piece for a Nuggets team that has been looking like a legitimate title contender after acquiring Aaron Gordon at the trade deadline.
If this is a season-ending injury, it’s a massive blow to the Nuggets’ title chances. And a serious knee injury is just something that you don’t want to see for a 24-year-old star talent who hopefully has a long, great career ahead of him.
UPDATE: While the news isn’t surprising, it’s extremely disappointing. Jamal Murray has been diagnosed with a torn ACL.