“Nikola Jokic played a 48-minute game and got 0 free throws, this is ridiculous!”: Nuggets’ Jamal Murray laments free throw gap, as the Nuggets fell short to the Pelicans

Nuggets’ guard Jamal Murray calls the difference in the number of free-throw attempted ‘ridiculous’, how that cost them the game.

The Denver Nuggets lost a close game to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. Despite the multiple efforts to catch-up, and make a comeback, the Nuggets fell short 113-108.

Nikola Jokic tried his best, leading the way with a 29-10-10 triple-double. Jamal Murray added 23 points and 7 assists, whereas Michael Porter Jr. scored 17 and grabbed 9 rebounds. However, they fell short of the feisty and young Pelicans team.

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As for the Pelicans, Brandon Ingram led the way with 30 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. Zion Williamson had a 30 piece of his own, along with 6 rebounds. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 points to the cause as well.

The Nuggets lost the game because of the fouls. They fouled the Pelicans 28 times, as compared to the Pelicans fouling 12 times.

Jamal Murray ridicules the disparity in the Free-Throws attempted

The Denver Nuggets lost the game to the New Orleans Pelicans at the free-throw line. It may sound absurd, but the Nuggets just attempted 10 free-throws, as compared to the Pelicans attempting 30. Zion Williamson alone had more attempts than the entire Nuggets, at 14 FTA.

This did not sit right with Jamal Murray, who made the same known in the post-game interview. First, Murray talks about how the Joker had no free-throw attempts all night:

“You’re gonna tell me Joker’s going to play a 48-minute game and not get to the line once? I’m telling you that’s ridiculous.”

Then he goes on to call out the unfair amount of foul calls the Pelicans got:

“Let me just say something, thirty free throws to our 10. The last four minutes, they shot four minutes of straight free throws. That’s crazy. We can play defense all we want, but you can’t guard free throws.”

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What is done is done, but the referees need to be more critical while calling fouls, while moving forward. Too many foul calls ruin the flow of the game, and make the experience unpleasant for players as well as the fans.