DENVER (AP) — Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray's playing status is in jeopardy for Game 5 of their playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night after he was listed as questionable with a left calf strain on the injury report.
Murray was nursing the calf during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 119-108 loss at Los Angeles on Saturday night that snapped Denver's 11-game winning streak against LeBron James and the Lakers.
He didn't leave the game but was listed as questionable on the team's injury report Sunday.
Murray has struggled with his jump shot during the defending NBA champions' first-round playoff series despite hitting the winning buzzer-beater in Game 2.
Murray has shot 38% from the field and 21% from beyond the arc in the playoff series against the Lakers after shooting 48.1% overall and 42.5% on 3-pointers during the regular season, which were both career bests.
Murray missed 23 games this season while dealing with hamstring, knee, ankle and shin ailments, including seven straight down the stretch.
The Lakers could be getting a little boost for their bench. They listed forward Jarred Vanderbilt (right midfoot sprain) as questionable Sunday for the first time since the defensive stalwart got hurt more than two months ago.
The Nuggets, who are the No. 2 seed in the West, are one win away from advancing to a second-round matchup against the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, whose 122-116 win at Phoenix on Sunday night gave them the franchise's first sweep and first series win in two decades.
The Lakers are trying to make history and become the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-7 playoff series.
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Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) goes up for a shot against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the second half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, second from left, goes after a loose ball along with Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, center, center Nikola Jokic, second from right, and guard Austin Reaves, right, after James knocked the ball from the hands of Jokic during the second half in Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, left, shoots as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James defends during the first half in Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times after a political event Wednesday afternoon, an episode of violence that punctuated his decades-long career in politics.
His deputy prime minister Tomas Taraba later told the BBC he believed Fico would survive the attack, saying “he’s not in a life threatening situation at this moment.”
Fico, 59, was born in 1964 in what was then Czechoslovakia. A member of the Communist Party before the dissolution of communism, he took a law degree in 1986 and was first elected to Slovakia's parliament in 1992 as a member of the Party of the Democratic Left.
He served for several years in the 1990s as a governmental agent representing the Slovak Republic before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission of Human Rights. In 1999, he became chairman of the Smer (Direction) party, of which he has been a pivotal figure ever since.
He and Smer have most often been described as left-populist, though he has also been compared to right-wing politicians like the nationalist prime minister of neighboring Hungary, Viktor Orbán.
Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year, having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018. His third term made him the longest-serving head of government in the history of Slovakia, a European Union and NATO member.
After five years in opposition, Fico’s party won parliamentary elections last year on a pro-Russian and anti-American platform. He vowed to bring an end to Slovakia providing Ukraine with military support as it battled Russia's full-scale invasion, and has argued that NATO and the United States provoked Moscow into war.
After his election victory, the new government immediately halted arms deliveries to Ukraine. Thousands repeatedly took to the streets across Slovakia to rally against Fico’s pro-Russian and other policies, including plans to amend the penal code to eliminate a special anti-graft prosecutor and to take control of public media.
Fico's return to power caused concern among his critics that he and his party — which had long been tainted by scandal — would lead Slovakia away from its pro-Western course. He vowed to pursue a “sovereign” foreign policy, promised a tough stance against migration and non-governmental organizations, and campaigned against LGBTQ+ rights.
He earned a reputation for his tirades against journalists, and faced criminal charges in 2022 for allegedly creating a criminal group and misuse of power. In 2018, he and his government stepped down amid controversy after Slovakian investigative journalist Ján Kuciak was murdered along with his fiancée. Kuciak had been reporting on tax-related crimes implicating high-level Slovak politicians.
Fico is married and has one child.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives for a cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May, 15, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured after the away-from-home government meeting in Handlova, according to information confirmed by Parliamentary Vice-Chair Lubos Blaha, who suspended the House session. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, right, talks to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. Having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, the 59-year-old's third term made him the longest-serving head of government in Slovakia’s history. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. Having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, the 59-year-old's third term made him the longest-serving head of government in Slovakia’s history. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, pool, File)
FILE - Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova, right, and newly appointed Prime Minister Robert Fico pose for a photo during a swear in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, Slovakia, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. Having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, the 59-year-old's third term made him the longest-serving head of government in Slovakia’s history. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. Having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, the 59-year-old's third term made him the longest-serving head of government in Slovakia’s history. . (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)
