Beal waited to ask Jamal Murray why he didn't take the last shot originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
After Bradley Beal sunk two free throws to give the Wizards a 112-108 win late in Washington's 112-110 win, Denver's Jamal Murray deferred on an opportunity to give his team the win on Thursday night.
Before that, a couple of Wizards turnovers allowed Denver to get back into it and the Nuggets were able to produce a Michael Porter Jr. dunk to cut it to two. Later, a missed Raul Neto layup again allowed Denver to have a chance to win the game with a 3-pointer, but with Beal getting back in time to prevent Murray from comfortably pulling up, he passed it up to an open Facundo Campazo, who missed the game-winning attempt.
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"It was crazy man, I honestly thought Jamal was going to pull up from three," Beal said postgame. "He had the shot. I was waiting after the game to ask him why he didn't shoot it, I mean he'd been hitting them all second half. But thank God he didn't, man and we were able to get out of there with a win."
Murray told the media that he was unaware of the clock and put the missed opportunity on him.
Nuggets head coach Mike Malone still had a timeout in hand, but opted to let his team find a way to score in an unsettled opportunity. While Murray thought Porter would fill the lane, he went to the corner thinking Murray would drive and kick. Neither came to fruition.
The Wizards finished their challenging West Coast trip 3-1 in spectacular fashion. Before Murray made the decision to defer to his open teammate Campazzo, who Beal called a "non-shooter," he missed a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left. It came during what NBC Sports Washington color analyst Drew Gooden called one of the best defensive possessions of the year, as Neto hustled and provided clutch pressure on the Denver point guard to force the miss.
Murray finished with a game-high 34 points, but his team failed to execute late and Washington escaped Denver having won both meetings against the Nuggets by a combined four points.
Tune in to NBC Sports Washington at 6 p.m. on Saturday for the start of coverage for the Wizards' next game against Minnesota.
