Once the adrenaline wore off, Jamal Murray was able to enjoy a night nearly 1,000 days in the making.

Sunday night at Ball Arena, Murray made his return to the playoffs after 932 days. The last playoff game Murray played was Game 5 against the Lakers back on Sept. 26, 2020, when the NBA was still operating in a bubble.

“Congratulations to Jamal for being back,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Denver’s 109-80 Game 1 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. “That’s two postseasons that he did not play. It seems like eons ago when we were in the bubble and he was doing his thing.”

Murray tore the ACL in his left knee in April 2021.

It took a bit for Murray to settle into his thing against Minnesota. An amped-up crowd helped most of the Nuggets, just not the starting point guard who said he hadn’t felt that energy level since the beginning of the season. He admitted that fatigue set in early in Game 1.

“You want to play so good. It’s a much-anticipated (game),” Murray said. “Sometimes you let that affect you too much. It was nice to settle down coming out of the half.”

After missing his first five shots, a mix of open 3s, contested layups and mid-range jumpers, Murray made his first field goal early in the second quarter. He returned to the locker room with nine points on 10 shots at halftime. Even though he wasn’t scoring efficiently, he helped others get going.

“I was just trying to adjust. I wanted to come out and make shots, you know, play my game. It just didn’t work like that,” Murray said. “So, I had to play defense, dive on the floor, work myself into the game, pick up full court. That’s what I do when I’m struggling.”

Murray set up Bruce Brown and Nikola Jokic before finding a cutting Michael Porter Jr. for a pair of emphatic dunks that helped Denver’s 6-foot-10 sharpshooter get in a rhythm after struggling with his own scoring efficiency for an early stretch.

“He looked like Jamal. I told him the other day, I feel like he’s better now than before his injury. I know he probably doesn’t feel it, but just his all-around game, his awareness. He had like a year off where he just had to watch, so I just feel like his awareness, the right plays he’s making, the assists, like, being able to play a true point guard for our team and knowing the guys around him and where to get them open (is better),” Porter said.

“Me and him both struggled shooting for part of the game, but he still had a huge, huge game.”

Murray made nine of his final 17 shots, including three more 3-pointers, to finish with a team-high 24 points. He added eight rebounds, all on the defensive glass, and eight assists. Four of those assists went to Porter, who watched most of last season from the bench alongside Murray. Porter said their time together, as frustrating as it might have been at the time, yielded additional on-court chemistry.

“He’s definitely been looking for me more, and I appreciate that,” Porter said.

“I think our time off of the court when we were both rehabbing probably had a part to play in how close we are.”

The only turnover Murray committed came with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Nuggets up by 29. By that point, Murray had most of his fun for the night. He got a reverse layup to go in the third quarter and saw a few tougher 3s go down before capping his night with a flashy finish, a staple of the show he put on in the bubble.

“As he gets deeper and deeper into the playoffs, he’s only going to get better and better,” Malone said.

With the win all but secured, Murray dribbled down the right side of the lane and elevated as if he was going to lay the ball in with his right hand. Once he passed Jaylen Nowell’s defensive effort in midair, Murray smoothly shifted the ball back into his left hand and spun it in off the backboard. On his way back down the court, Murray mimicked the switching the ball from his right to left hand, making sure everybody knew what he had just done.

“I’m just trying to get myself going, get the crowd going. I’m best when I’m feeling myself and playing with energy,” Murray said.

“I just had to let the adrenaline out. … I let the nerves out.”

Nuggets to pick 40th

The NBA released the lottery odds and the rest of the draft order Monday. The Nuggets’ lone selection is the 40th overall pick, early in the second round. Denver’s first-round pick was originally sent to Oklahoma City in a trade that brought R.J. Hampton to Denver. The Thunder eventually traded the pick to the Knicks, who then forwarded it to Charlotte. The Hornets will pick in Denver’s slot at the 27th overall pick.

The Nuggets eventually traded Hampton to Orlando as part of a package that brought Aaron Gordon to Denver.

Game 2 information

Timberwolves at Nuggets, 8 p.m. Wednesday, TV: TNT, Line: Nuggets -8