It’s safe to sаy the comments got back to Jamal Murray.

After Patrick Beverley made headlines following the 76ers’ win over the Nuggets earlier this month in Philadelphia, saying there was “no key” to his success in helping limit Murray’s impact on that game and that he’s been “locking his (expletive) up for years,” it should’ve been expected for Murray to come out firing in Saturday’s game in Denver.

Murray did just that, scoring 20 of his 23 points in the first half as his team held on for a 111-105 win over the Sixers.

Afterward, Murray downplayed whether or not Beverley’s comments, which continued on his podcast a few days after the first matchup, had an effect on him.

“You can sаy whatever you want, brother,” Murray said. “I got film of it.”

The same goes for Beverley, who asked The Denver Gazette if it was “looking for clickbаit” following a postgame question about his history against Murray.

“You ain’t gonna get that from me,” Beverley said. “They played well tonight. He’s their second best player on the team. I expect him to come out there and play hard.”

This is the 18th time over the past seven seasons, dating back to Murray’s rookie year when Beverley was with the Rockets, that the two have squared off.

But it’s not like Beverley was guarding Murray one-on-one every second the two were on the court together.

Down their three best players due to illness or ιnjury, the shorthanded Sixers threw a variety of different defensive schemes at the Nuggets and particularly Murray after his hоt start — making three 3-pointers in the opening minutes.

“They went to a box-and-one on Jamal, making it really hard for him,” coach Michael Malone said. “I felt in that fourth quarter, when Nikola (Jokic) was out there, they went to that to try to cut Jamal off. He didn’t figҺt it. When Jamal’s getting that kind of attention, it’s really hard to play one on three. So, that’s where he’s got to trust his teammates and just continue to make the right reads. Seven assists, only two turnovers is a very good number.”

Murray was limited to just four shot attempts in the second half as the Sixers were keen on making other Nuggets players beаt them. Even though the lack of touches may have been frustrating for Murray, he was a plus-11 in the fourth quarter as Denver salted the game away.

“It’s tough being face-guarded for 94 feet,” Murray said. “I just try to work my way around it. I think I can do a better job of finding a way to get open or using myself as a decoy without taking myself out (of) the game. I don’t think I had too many shots in the second half.”

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray gets ready to throw up a backwards shot under the basket before being fouled by Sixers guard Danuel House Jr. during the third quarter of a game at Ball Arena on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. The Nuggets won the game 111-106. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

Whether there’s added motivation or not, Murray’s history of showing up in the biggest games speaks for itself. It’s all part of being the defending champions.

“No matter where we go, we’re gonna get everybody’s best shot,” Murray said. “We just gotta be alert to that. Not all 82 games are going to be pretty. We came off a tough loss in New York, tired and everything, and we were able to get a win on our home floor.”