Jamal Murray Goes Nuclear: The Blue Arrow Returns with a 52-Point Masterpiece In Indy

If you were looking for a logical explanation for Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets’ 2025 season, you might as well stop looking. This team is a riddle wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a headband. After dropping four straight games at home, turning Ball Arena into a place where joy goes to die, the Nuggets hopped on a plane, flew to Indianapolis, and remembered they are actually really, really good at basketball.

Because of course they did.

In a 135-120 victory over the Indiana Pacers that was way more entertaining than it had any right to be, Murray didn’t just play; he went supernova. We’re talking a season-high 52 points on efficiency that would make a calculator blush.

Jamal Murray Drops a Historical Performance On One Leg

Here is the context that makes this performance genuinely insane: Murray shouldn’t have been walking without a limp, let alone dropping a fifty-burger. He was nursing a right ankle sprain that knocked him out of the previous loss to Dallas. The smart money was on him sitting out.

But Murray has always had that stubborn, gladiatorial streak. He laced them up, and frankly, the Pacers probably wish he hadn’t.

From the opening tip, Murray looked like he was playing a different sport than everyone else. The Nuggets started the game looking disjointed, but Murray single-handedly kept the ship afloat. He dropped 10 quick ones in the first quarter while the rest of the offense was still buffering.

Then came the second quarter, and things got silly. Murray went into that “video game cheat code” mode that Nuggets fans live for. He was hitting tough mid-range fades, stepping into transition threes, and basically treating the Pacers’ defense like traffic cones. He finished the first half shooting 9-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-6 from deep.

The Return Of the Blue Arrow Celebration

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen the Murray swagger. You know the one. The chest-pounding, trash-talking, arrow-shooting menace.

In the third quarter, he scored 14 straight points for Denver. Fourteen. At one point, after burying his sixth three-pointer of the night immediately after halftime, he broke out the signature “Blue Arrow” celebration. It was like seeing an old friend return from a long vacation. He finished the night 10-of-11 from three-point range. That is not a typo. He missed one three-pointer all night.

When the Pacers tried to make it interesting in the fourth (cutting the lead to 14), Murray checked back in and slammed the door shut with the authority of a dad telling kids to get off his lawn. He finished just three points shy of his career high.

The Curious Case Of Nikola Jokic

While Murray was busy scorching the earth, Nikola Jokić was having a weird one. He was also playing hurt (left wrist sprain), because apparently, the Nuggets’ training room is just a suggestion at this point.

Jokić played his usual brand of brilliance, but then vanished with 4:20 left in the first half. Did he tweak the wrist? Did he have to use the bathroom? Did he remember he left the stove on back in Serbia? We don’t really know. He just walked off.

This led to an unexpected cameo from Jonas Valanciunas and the second unit, who promptly went on a 12-0 run. The bench eventually cooled off and let Indy back in it, but the fact that Denver survived a stretch without their MVP speaks volumes about how hot Murray was.

Why Can’t the Nuggets Win At Home?

Here is the funniest stats quirk of the season: The Nuggets have now won eight straight road games. They are absolute road warriors. Put them in a hostile environment, sleep in a hotel, eat room service, and they turn into the ’96 Bulls.

Put them in their own beds in Denver, and they turn into a lottery team.

It defies logic. Usually, the altitude in Denver is the ultimate home-court advantage. Right now, the Nuggets look like they’re pressing every time they step on the court at Ball Arena. Maybe they just need to stay in hotels when they play in Denver? Someone look into the Airbnb situation downtown.

Defense Remains Optional, But the Offense Is Back

Let’s be real for a second: Giving up 120 points to a “decimated” Pacers team isn’t exactly a defensive clinic. Since the Aaron Gordon injury, the Nuggets’ defensive rating has been climbing faster than inflation. They take plays off. They lose assignments. They let teams hang around way too long.

But when you score 135 points and shoot the leather off the ball, you can get away with it. The Nuggets dropped 72 points in the first half alone. It was an offensive masterclass.

This game was exactly what the doctor ordered. It wasn’t perfect, and the defense is still a massive red flag waving in the wind, but seeing Murray look like a superstar again changes the entire calculus of the season. If the Blue Arrow is flying straight, the Nuggets can beat anyone, anywhere—especially, apparently, on the road.