Oh, what a night it was for Canadian point guard Jamal Murray.
The Kitchener, Ontario native etched his name in NBA history with a massive 48-point eruption in an impressive 115-107 win over the highly touted Boston Celtics.
While initially believed to be the most points scored by a Canadian in a regular season game, further research has shown that Kiki Vandeweghe, who was born in Germany but is the son of Montreal-born Ernie Vandeweghe, holds the record with 51 points.
Ironically, Vandeweghe achieved this feat while playing for the Denver Nuggets—the same team Murray plays for today. Vandeweghe’s 51 points are tied for the fifth-highest scoring game in the Nuggets’ history, while Murray’s 48-point performance ranks in the franchise’s top ten.
Murray’s career-high effort tied Hall-of-Famer, two-time NBA MVP, and Canadian basketball legend Steve Nash’s 48-point playoff performance in Game 5 of the 2005 Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. However, in terms of regular-season performances, Murray’s 48 points tie Kiki Vandeweghe for the fifth-highest by a Canadian player.
Murray was unconscious all night—scoring 14 straight points as the Nuggets trailed 34-19 in the first quarter. He added another 9 points in the second, 6 in the third, and exploded for 19 in the fourth quarter on 8-of-12 shooting alone. He finished the game 19-for-30 from the field, connected on 3-of-11 triples, and was perfect from the line, going 5-for-5 in 38 minutes of action.
In a somewhat controversial ending to the game, Murray attempted and missed two field goals in the last 17 seconds in an effort to reach the 50-point plateau. Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving didn’t appreciate Murray’s attempt at padding his stats and tossed the historic game ball into the stands, much to the delight of a lucky Nuggets fan.
Among the top-scoring games by Canadians in NBA history, Kiki Vandeweghe leads with 51 points, followed by his performances of 50, 49, 48, and 47 points. Andrew Wiggins’ 47-point game against the Los Angeles Lakers also stands out, and he holds the record for the most 40-point games by a Canadian with six.
By contrast, Nash scored 40 or more points on three occasions in his illustrious 18-year career. This is Murray’s first 40-point game, and judging by his early success, it won’t be a surprise to see him reach the 40- or 50-point plateau a few more times.
The Denver Nuggets are off to their best start since 1976 when they opened the season with a 7-1 record. The win stretches their winning streak to five straight games, tying them for the best record in the league at 9-1 with the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors.
Through ten games, Murray is averaging 16 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game—all career highs for the third-year guard. He joins an exclusive list of active players, including LeBron James, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Andrew Wiggins, Blake Griffin, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Carmelo Anthony, who have scored 45 points in an NBA game before their 22nd birthday.
