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The defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets stormed back late against the Los Angeles Lakers to erase a 20-point deficit, winning the game 101-99 on a Jamal Murray buzzer-beating fadeaway shot […]
The defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets stormed back late against the Los Angeles Lakers to erase a 20-point deficit, winning the game 101-99 on a Jamal Murray buzzer-beating fadeaway shot to give the Nuggets a 2-0 series lead in first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
The Nuggets took Game 1 against the Lakers on Saturday night by a score of 114-103 to win their ninth straight game against Los Angeles, spanning both the regular and postseasons.
After a Game 1 loss, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers came out aggressive in Game 2 of their 2024 NBA Playoffs Opening Round against the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers led by 15 points at halftime, as the Nuggets uncharacteristically struggled on their homecourt.
Michael Porter Jr. was the Nuggets lone bright spot in the first half, with Murray particularly struggling from the field. Murray had just four points on 2-of-10 shooting in the first half, with an ugly -16 court rating as Denver trailed by 15 at halftime.
Anthony Davis attacked the basket early and often en route to his 14-of-19 shooting, 32 point night, helping the Lakers balloon their lead to as many as 20 points in the second half.
But then Jokic, who went scoreless in the second quarter, started turning it on with some baskets in the paint of his own. Peyton Watson (team-high +11 court rating) started making plays on both ends of the floor.
Earlier in the night, Murray told his teammates that “he found find them”, implying that he would pass the ball more to compensate for his poor shooting. Murray’s Nuggets teammates disagreed, telling him that he needs to continue shooting and finding his rhythm.
In the fourth quarter, Murray further deliberated over his game with a member of the crowd: his father, Roger. Murray asked “should I drive or should I shoot?”
“Drive.” Roger replied.
Murray indeed had three driving layups in the fourth quarter, some of them with incredibly difficult defense to overcome. As both the score and the final buzzer drew closer, Murray also found some mid-range shots, breaking out of his shooting slump.
With just over a minute left to play, with Denver down 95-92, the Nuggets almost blew a crucial possession on a pass nearly caught out of bounds. The ball was then whipped over to Porter Jr., and with plenty of time left on the shot clock, Porter Jr. chucked up a three-pointer: his sixth successful three-pointer of the evening.
D’Angelo Russell, who had an incredible bounce back from a poor Game 1, scoring 23 points in Game 2, hit a layup with 1:03 to play putting the Lakers up 97-95. James fouled Murray on the ensuing possession, with Murray tying the game back up at 97.
James attacked the basket with a driving lay-up, still imposing his will at age 39 to put the Lakers back up by a bucket. With time winding down on the shot clock, Murray attempted a contested 19-foot step back jumper that definitely wasn’t the first play the Nuggets drew up: but it didn’t matter. It went in. 99-99.
James found himself wide-open for a three-pointer at the top of the key following a career-high 41% three-point shooting percentage during the regular season. But it rimmed out, with the rebound going to Porter Jr.. With no timeout, the Nuggets advance the ball up court, and put the ball in Murray’s hands once again, matched up on elite defender Anthony Davis.
What happens next cannot be described in words, see for yourself:
The Nuggets win Game 2 by a score of 101-99 on Jamal Murray’s incredible, instant classic buzzer-beater.
Murray finished with 20 points on 9-of-24 shooting after breaking out of his first half slump.
While it’s “just one game,” the difference between going to Los Angeles up 2-0 as opposed to 1-1 is huge: if the Lakers win their home games, Game 5 could have been do-or-die at home for the Nuggets, down 3-1.
Some teams may have phoned it down 20 points and saved their energy for the remaining games of the series, but champions are built different. The Nuggets have now won 10 straight games against the Lakers, and have to beat them just two more times with up to five attempts.
Jokic finished 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists: a stat line only ever achieved by two other players in NBA playoff history: Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabar.
The series shifts to Los Angeles on Thursday night as the Lakers attempt to avoid a 3-0 series hole.
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