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NBA playoffs: Jamal Murray will reportedly play in Nuggets-Lakers Game 5 despite calf strain

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray will play in Monday's Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

The Nuggets listed Murray as questionable on Sunday with a calf strain, and he was a true game-time decision on Monday. Head coach Michael Malone told reporters in his pregame news conference that Murray was still considered questionable.

Murray then warmed up with a wrap around his injured calf and was reportedly cleared to play.

The news is a relief to a Nuggets team looking to close the Lakers out. Denver won the first three games of the series before the Lakers won Game 4 in Los Angeles on Saturday. Murray appeared to sustain the injury during Game 4.

With a win on Monday, the Nuggets would advance to the second round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota is fresh off a sweep of the Phoenix Suns that it clinched on Sunday. A Lakers win Monday night would send the series back to Los Angeles on Thursday for Game 6.

Jamal Murray was reportedly cleared to play Monday after warming up with a wrap around his injured calf.  (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Jamal Murray was reportedly cleared to play Monday after warming up with a wrap around his injured calf. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Murray averaged 21.2 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds during the regular season while shooting 48.1% from the field and a career-high 42.5% from 3-point distance. He hit the game-winning buzzer-beater in a dramatic Game 2 victory that capped a Nuggets comeback from a 20-point deficit.