As Denver Nuggets near title, Jamal Murray has become all-around point guard Coach Michael Malone long envisioned

Even back when Jamal Murray was racking up 50-point games in the NBA bubble, Denver coach Michael Malone marveled as much over his Canadian point guard's pinpoint passes as his magnificent moves and fadeaway baskets.

"Well, I've long said that Jamal is not just a scorer," declared Malone, who early on even had to convince Murray himself. "That's been my challenge to him."

Murray averaged 3.4 assists in his first season as Denver's starting point guard in 2017-18. That number jumped to 4.8 the next season and stayed there for two more years.

After missing the 2021-22 season while recovering from knee surgery, Murray averaged a career-high 6.2 assists in his return to the lineup this season.

That number has climbed to 7.1 in the playoffs, thanks to the 10, 10, 10 and 12 assists Murray has posted against the Heat in becoming the first player in history to reach double-digit assist totals in each of his first four games in the NBA Finals.

Murray's whopping 42 assists are one more than Nikola Jokic has in this series, which Denver leads 3-1 and can close out Monday night at Ball Arena, securing the first championship in franchise history.

Just as impressive as Murray's dozen assists in Game 4 were his zero turnovers against Miami's relentless double-team pressure.

"That's a point god right there," Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said. "Twelve assists, no turnovers, not forcing, hitting big shots, timely shots, and really just being a floor general out there, being steady, rock solid, even when they're trapping, giving him different looks.

"He's making the right play, and that's what we need from him night in and night out."

Never had Murray been a better orchestrator of Malone's offense.

"It just felt like they were blitzing every pick-and-roll, just basically trying to limit my shot attempts, and I just wasn't fighting it," Murray said after that game. "We've got a squad. We've got a lot of guys that can come and impact the game, a lot of guys playing with confidence, so I'm not going to fight it. Make an easy pass, and that's why I've got four other guys out there.

"You don't have to fight it. I'm not on a team where I've got to force it or hold the ball too long. I'll gladly give up if we're winning games."

Malone may have said it a lot, but he couldn't have said it better.

Together, Murray and Jokic are averaging a combined 53.4 points, 19.8 rebounds and 20.8 assists in the finals, making them an almost impossible pick-and-roll duo to decipher, much less defuse.

"That should be an affront to him, that people just look at him as a scorer," Malone said Sunday, "because ever since he became a starting point guard, he is charged with the responsibility of running this team, making every one of his teammates better, on top of being an aggressive scorer looking for his shot, on top of being a rebounder at his size and physicality, as well as being an engaged defender."

And while Jokic's popularity has exploded this summer, the Nuggets are hoping Murray will finally get his due as a distributor.

"The challenge is always for you to be an All-Star and All-NBA player, and for you to be the guy that is, along with Nikola, putting this team on your back, it requires commitment and effort all across the board," Malone said.

"I know that he's capable of making his teammates better. He's shown that in the past. I think it's just constantly striving to become the best version of yourself. Jamal is really committed to trying to be the best version. That's allowing him to be a historical player and allowing him to have that in his first four finals games is just incredible."

Murray's offensive game hasn't suffered from his increased assist totals, either. He's averaging 26.7 points in these playoffs, up from his 20-point average in the regular season as he worked his way back from a knee injury that sidelined him for the Nuggets' two previous playoff appearances.

"I'm just happy to be in this position, knowing that everything I did to rehab was solid," Murray said.

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Sports Writer