Keegan Murray's rookie NBA season has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride with plenty of peaks and valleys.
In the Kings' 134-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center, Murray tied his career high in points, scoring 23 on 7-of-17 shooting from the field against LeBron James and Co.
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SIGN UP HERE Furthermore, the Iowa product might like playing against both Los Angeles teams, after Murray previously scored 23 points on Dec. 3 when the Kings visited Crypto.com Arena to face the Clippers.
"There's going to be ups and downs; I think Keegan start off the year great, obviously," Kevin Huerter told reporters postgame after the win over the Lakers. "I think people know they had a down spell. Everyone has a down spell. I'm coming off a down spell. You go through so many ups and downs, especially as a rookie.
"He's learning every game. I think he's learning, getting better. It's just his confidence, I think is back. I think he's taking shots with confidence, getting in the paint defensively. He took charges tonight. He's a smart player. I think the more games we play, the longer he's in the league. Obviously, he's going to continue to learn, but as long as he's playing confident out there, he'll be fine."
Huerter spotlighted a pivotal aspect of Murray's game that has helped him get back on track: Confidence. On "Kings Postgame Live," NBC Sports California's Matt Barnes echoed those remarks by stating that the Kings rookie shouldn't be discouraged by missed 3-pointers.
"I mean, obviously [Murray is] a young guy and I think he's sometimes thrown off by a miss or two, but he's a great young shooter," Barnes told Kyle Draper. And we need him to continue to stay aggressive on the offensive end because he stretches the defense when they close out.
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"He's able to put the ball on the floor. He's got soft touch around the basket and he can make plays for his teammates. So I just loved his [aggressiveness]. The fact that he took 17 shots tonight, I love that."
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Murray hopes to carry this confidence into the Kings' next game against the Washington Wizards on Friday night at Golden 1 Center before the team gets a couple of days off for the Christmas break.