Murray thrown into fire with Parker out
Rookie gets call after star guard lost to leg injury
The first time Dejounte Murray touched the ball Friday, Pat Beverley nearly took it from him.
A few possessions later, Beverley actually did take the ball from the San Antonio Spurs rookie, muscling it away like an older brother picking on a younger one.
Physically speaking, Murray was making his first playoff start against the Rockets in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. In his head, however, Murray was back on the playgrounds of Seattle.
“That’s how a lot of guys play back home,” Murray said. “I just got to get used to it again.”
Certainly, Murray didn’t expect to be in this position when the series began last week. The 29th pick in last June’s draft, Murray totaled nine minutes in the Spurs’ first-round series against Memphis as a little-used emergency point guard.
Then came the emergency.
Tony Parker tore his quadriceps tendon in Game 3 against the Rockets, coach Gregg Popovich tabbed Murray the new starter, and his whole world changed.
Suddenly, a player who had logged 38 appearances in the regular season was thrust into the spotlight for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
“I have never been part of a playoff atmosphere, so that was new to me,” Murray said. “The NBA is new to me. It showed yesterday. A playoff game, that’s a whole other ball game.”
In his lone college season at Washington, Murray’s team didn’t reach the NCAA Tournament.
Friday’s game — which the Spurs won 103-92 to grab a 2-1 series lead — marked his most pressurepacked postseason minutes since leading Rainier Beach High School in Se- attle to four consecutive state titles.
“I think all of us have been there at one point in our career, having to learn the ropes,” said Patty Mills, now technically Murray’s backup. “He’s going to learn from it and keep growing. ”
Murray finished his inaugural NBA playoff start with two points on 1-of-5 shooting and no assists in 14 minutes. After an unsettling opening sequence against Beverley, Murray settled down to commit only one more turnover.
Though the plus-minus stat can be misleading in a one-game sample size, Murray’s plus-11 was the best of the team.
Popovich plans to start Murray again Sunday in Game 4. Meanwhile, the Spurs expect Beverley to keep coming after their untested point guard.
If Murray is able to handle the pressure, and if he is able to again participate in another victory, he will have Beverley’s Game 3 bullying session to thank.
“I’m glad he did that,” Murray said. “He woke me up. I’m a rookie, so he tried to give me a taste of it.”
Now Murray is ready to take another bite.