BOSTON — The Nuggets are pushing for Jamal Murray to be an All-Star by any screens necessary.

“Jamal Murray was outstanding today,” coach Michael Malone said after Denver’s 102-100 win over the Celtics on Friday.

“I hope everybody out in Nuggets nation, pick up your phone, pick up your computer, call your aunt, whoever you’ve got to call, man, that kid’s an All-Star.”

The fan vote says otherwise. Murray was not in the top 10 of Western Conference guards in the latest polling, which was released Thursday.  Nikola Jokic, who’s second only to Lakers star LeBron James among Western Conference players with nearly 3.5 million votes, is Denver’s only player in the top 10 of the fan vote.

Fans account for 50% of the vote with media and players splitting the other half. Saturday is the last day for fans to submit their All-Star ballot, and Murray made a strong closing argument.

Against the Celtics, a team with three forwards — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis — and two guards — Derrick White and Jrue Holiday — in the top 10 of the Eastern Conference polls, Murray was the game’s high-scorer with 35 points. He made 15 of his 21 shots, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists with just one turnover.

“It’s a great case, a great step in the right direction. I believe he’s an All-Star, so I think he’s going to continue to play it out at that level,” Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said after.

“I hope they do the right thing.”

That performance was especially impressive given Boston’s backcourt. Holiday and White are considered some of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. Holiday was a first-team all-defensive selection last year, while White earned second-team honors. As if that wasn’t enough, Murray said the Celtics regularly mixed up their defensive coverages.

“It felt like each timeout, something was different. They came out in a 2-1-2 zone. Then, they’d put Jrue on me to start. Then, JB (Jaylen Brown) would press. Sometimes they would switch with Porzingis. Sometimes they would blitz,” Murray said.

“Both teams were countering each other. It just kind of felt like that. Both throwing haymakers and we were able to have the final punch.”

Murray’s case has been complicated by hamstring and ankle injuries that forced him to miss 15 of Denver’s first 43 games. Heading into Sunday’s game at Washington, Murray’s averaging 20.5 points, 6.5 assists and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 47.7% from the field, 41% from 3 and 87.9% on free throws.

He was at his best Friday in the second and fourth quarters. In the second, Murray played a part in 20 of Denver’s 24 points. He scored 15 on his own and found Peyton Watson for a dunk and a 3. Then, he scored 11 of Denver’s first 14 points in the fourth, leading Denver to a four-point lead midway through the final quarter. He capped his night by finding Jokic, Denver’s only definite All-Star, for the go-ahead bucket.

“They were efficient. They made plays for themselves. They made plays for other people,” Malone said. “It was high-level basketball from two All-Star players.”