Nikola Jokic believes Jamal Murray is stepping up as a leader for the Denver Nuggets.

Murray finished on 23 points, four rebounds and eight assists as the Nuggets claimed a comprehensive 129-104 win over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Cup on Friday.

Jokic led the Nuggets with 26 points in 28 minutes of action, but Murray turned in a fine display to continue his strong start to the season.

"When Jamal’s making shots, he’s a different player," Jokic told Amazon Prime.

"He changed the game. He’s not shy at the moment, he’s making and taking big shots.

"He came in in the best shape of his life, he’s a leader and you can see he’s stepping up on the floor."

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Murray, meanwhile, says it is his job to step up and take some of the burden off Jokic.

"It opens things up for everybody," he told ESPN.

"We’ve got the best player in the world [in Jokic], he demands a lot of attention. If I can get in too, it just opens it up.

"I love the energy we brought. Sometimes you can get kind of lax, the other team can surprise you, but we played the same way through the whole game with the same intensity."

Jokic also added nine rebounds and nine assists, as he fell just short of continuing his triple-double streak.

"It was a professional win for us, we took care of business," he added.