Jamal Murray issued a challenge to his locker-room neighbor.
He needed to be entertained somehow. And someone other than Nikola Jokic was going to have to score to make up for Murray’s absence. He was recovering from a hamstring injury, and the Nuggets were halfway through a month of fending without him. It was Nov. 17, 2023, in New Orleans.
So Murray turned to Christian Braun in the visitors’ locker room. Take a step-back tonight, he dared the 22-year-old.
“I ended up hitting three 3s that game,” Braun told The Denver Post, accurately recalling the box score one year later.