Jamal Murray responds to Shaq’s controversial message with just three words after his 45-point game

Murray had an admirable response to Shaq calling him out.

Murray reacts to a question during a postgame interview after a win over the Mavericks. / Screengrab Twitter @NBAonTNT

While dealing with apparent inflammation in his left knee, Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, over his last two games, scored seven and 17 points heading into Tuesday’s contest against the Dallas Mavericks.

Hall of Famer and Inside the NBA analyst Shaquille O’Neal wanted more from Murray. During TNT’s pregame show, Shaq implored Murray to play better if the Nuggets, winners of the NBA title during the 2022-23 season, want to return to the promised land.

Well, all Murray did was go out and score 45 points, chipping in six assists, two steals and two rebounds in 37 minutes to lead Denver to a 118-99 victory. After the game, Murray was told of Shaq’s “get to work” comment, to which he replied, “I agree 100%.”

“When there’s games like this, when I’m on, there’s nothing to worry about,” Murray said. “That’s the sense of the group. When Jok’s [Nikola Jokic] going, it’s like ‘Ok, he’s going, he’s going.’

“But I feel like—and the team feels like—when I’m going, there’s nothing to worry about. We just gotta play defense. And he’s 100 percent right. I need to play my best. I need to play better. I played terrible up until today and I’ve struggled.”

After the game, Shaq explained that he criticized Murray because “he’s a dog,” adding that he was happy the Nuggets star played so well.

In 33 games this season, Murray is averaging 19.8 points, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 38.1 percent from the three-point line.