DENVER — The Lakers gave the Denver Nuggets as good of a shot as they’ve had over the last 16 months on Monday night.
But Jamal Murray had the best one of the night for the Nuggets, sinking a 15-foot step-back jumper at the buzzer over Anthony Davis’ outstretched right arm as the Nuggets wiped out a 20-point second-half deficit to stun the Lakers, 101-99, for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
The Nuggets didn’t lead for the entire second half and hadn’t led since 5-3 in the first quarter. But the reigning NBA champions, as they have done in their 10 consecutive victories over the Lakers, won the clutch minutes when it mattered most, outscoring the Lakers 32-20 in the fourth quarter.
The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Just like Game 1, the Lakers started strong behind efficient two-way play. The offense was organized and got what they wanted out of their sets while also pushing the pace in transition when the opportunities were there.
The Lakers also made a significant defensive change, giving Anthony Davis the Nikola Jokic assignment defensively after Rui Hachimura primarily defended Jokic in Game 1.
The adjustment paid off early, with Davis holding his own against the two-time league MVP.
Davis (32 points on 14-for-19 shooting and 11 rebounds) was also aggressive in attacking Jokic offensively, scoring 10 first-quarter points and having 24 points at halftime, leading to the Lakers being up 59-44 going into the third.
D’Angelo Russell (23 points) bounced back from a frustrating Game 1 and made six of his playoff career-high seven 3-pointers before halftime.
The Lakers targeted Jokic as a primary defender and Murray as a help defender in LeBron James-Davis pick-and-rolls to start the third, leading to a pair of Davis and-one layups over Murray and an Austin Reaves 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 68-48 lead at the 10-minute mark of the third.
But the Nuggets adjusted, moving Jokic off Davis and onto Hachimura and putting Aaron Gordon on Davis.
The move helped neutralize the Lakers’ James-Davis pick-and-roll attack. And the Lakers offense as a whole. The Lakers scored just 15 points over the next 15½ minutes, helping the Nuggets get within 83-79.
And Davis’ foul trouble (five for the game) allowed Jokic to get going offensively (27 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists).
James (26 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds) made a pair of 3-pointers to push the Lakers’ lead to 89-81 with less than six minutes left.
But the Nuggets kept responding, with Michael Porter Jr.’s 3 at the 1:15 mark in the fourth tying the score at 95-all.
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The Lakers got back to running their organized offense down the stretch, leading to Russell and James making layups on back-to-back possessions to give the Lakers a 99-97 lead.
But Murray, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter on 6-for-8 shooting after an abysmal start, made a pull-up two-pointer to tie the game at 99, before hitting the game-winner.
Murray’s winning shot came after James misfired from long range with 16 seconds left and the score tied.
Porter grabbed the rebound with 13 seconds left and the Nuggets didn’t call a timeout.
Instead, Murray took the ball to the right side with Davis guarding him, stepped back and swished the basket just as the buzzer sounded. Both Murray and Davis fell into the Nuggets’ bench as the sellout crowd’s roar shook Ball Arena.
Porter added 22 points and Aaron Gordon 14 for Denver.
More to come on this story.
INSANE FINAL MINUTE IN DENVER. #PLAYOFFMODE IN FULL EFFECT. pic.twitter.com/60cuQJYcUu
— NBA (@NBA) April 23, 2024
ABSOLUTELY. UNREAL.
JAMAL. MURRAY. https://t.co/qZ80SJGCqk pic.twitter.com/mmaRYBWvgJ
— NBA (@NBA) April 23, 2024