It’s accurate to say Nuggets celebrities Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray aren’t playoff tested.

If the strain of Game 7 took off years Nuggets coach Michael Malone, it added those exact years to Denver’s two most precious playoff rookies.

Jokic, in another performance for the archives, registered a 21-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double that served as the foundation of the Nuggets’ engrossing Game 7 win over the San Antonio Spurs. He’s the first player to reach those marks since LeBron James did it in 2015. Not even an ugly first half, which Spurs coach Gregg Popovich joked “set basketball ”, could dampen the sterling performance from Denver’s franchise star.

He had been one assist away from averaging a and announced his presence. They’ll take on the playoff’s other leading candidate, Portland’s Damian Lillard, in a conflict of franchise celebrities who’t forged different avenues to direction. That conference semifinals begins Monday night at 8:30.

Jokic, through his selfless play and his humor, never let the pressure of facing Popovich or the magnitude of a Game 7 impact him. He also set an aggressive offensive tone with his post play and work on the glass but also sent the message that slacking on shield wasn’t acceptable.

“Every time we played with a little bit of defense, we won the game,” Jokic said. “Three times we lost, they averaged 120 points, so every time that we put some effort in on defense, we were winning the game. ”

Jokic, always derided for his defense, came up with three blocks and a steal in Game 7.

In addition, he played 44 minutes after Malone posited he would need him for all 48.

“I’ll make up for it next game,” Malone cracked in the postgame podium.

After scoring 17 points during the first three quarters and buffering a Nuggets lead that got as big as 17 in the third quarter, fatigue took its toll on Denver’s do-everything star.

“I started questioning myself a little bit to begin that quarter,” Malone admitted. “He missed his first three shots, and I said, ‘You know what, maybe I should’ve gotten him out,’… But then I said, ‘I can’t take him out, I gotta keep him in the game because even when he’s not making shots, he has a tremendous impact on the game, he creates space for everyone else. ’”

It was then that the 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter began to crumble.

Bryn Forbes drilled two 3-pointers since the Spurs mounted their charge. DeMar DeRozan started causing his patented mid-range havoc and got to the lane. Forbes crushed a fastbreak dunk to make it 88-86 with:52 seconds left, and it looked like the Nuggets were on the verge of a devastating collapse.

“Certainly a bit more worried than when you’re up 13, up 17,” said Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. “You kind of just relax and expect our men grow up in front of our eyes. ”

That’s when Murray, picking up the slack of Jokic’s 1-of-9 quarter, hit arguably the biggest shot of his career and sealed the Nuggets’ initial trip to the next round in a decade. Jokic collected the ball near the free throw line off a pick-and-roll with Murray but saw two Spurs bodies.

Instead of forcing a shot, Jokic turned to Murray, his release valve. Both ran another display that gave Murray just enough room to curl past Patty Mills, glide to the elbow and swish his fading floater over the outstretched arms of LaMarcus Aldridge.

JAMAL MURRAY GAME 7 DAGGER pic.twitter.com/m8Ss8jBqVt

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 28, 2019

Those two points were the last of Murray&rsquo. Despite numerous ailments heading into Game 7 — a shoulder that hampered his 3-point shooting, a bruised leg from a Jakob Poeltl display — Murray honed in on the rim.

“We don’t win that game without Jamal Murray,” Malone said.

Up 90-86, the Nuggets got another clutch stop and took the ball up the court. It was so loud in the raucous Pepsi Center crowd that Spurs players couldn’t hear Popovich crying to foul. The clock emptied away together with the Spurs’ year.

“I really like the grit, the toughness we played tonight, the resiliency. ” Malone said. “And even late, when they made their conduct, their two veterans, DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge taking over the game, we never lost our composure. ”

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