Jamal Murray hit a stunning 15-foot buzzer-beater over the outstretched arm of the 6’10” Anthony Davis to cap a sensational 20-point comeback and give the Denver Nuggets a 101-99 Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The unlikely victory opens up a 2-0 first round series lead for the defending champions as the teams now prepare to head to LA for the next two games at the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena.
Murray, who has developed a reputation over the years for stepping up his game during the playoffs, fell into the Nuggets bench and was mobbed by his teammates as Ball Arena erupted.
Remarkably, Murray had a horrendous start to the game, making just three of his first 16 shots before going 6-for-8 and notching 14 of his 20 total points in the fourth quarter, including the game winner.
“Man, I just want to give all the credit to my teammates, coaches,” Murray said on TNT Sports. “I told my teammates when I was struggling: ‘I’m going to look for y’all.’ Every single one of them told me to keep shooting. ‘Keep shooting. Be aggressive, keep shooting.’
“Even when I was throwing up that bullsh*t floater, they told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it, keep hunting it. I had the ball with a few seconds left and I knew once I made a couple, the next one should go down as well.
“You miss four or five in a row, you miss six or seven in a row, everybody is telling you to keep shooting, you’re missing bad on some of them. Then you miss 10, 11 in a row, 12 in a row and then it’s like: ‘Man, should I change something? Should I look at something else?’
“Like I said, if it wasn’t for my teammates, I might not even get to that shot.”
As Murray struggled, the Nuggets were kept in the game thanks to another absurd night from Nikola Jokić, who finished with 27 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals.
Michael Porter Jr. also came up big for the Nuggets with 22 points, including hitting six of his 10 three-point attempts.
However, the Lakers were unhappy with the officiating during the game, in particular on one play in the third quarter which saw a foul call against Porter Jr. on D’Angelo Russell overturned after the Nuggets used their coach’s challenge.
“That’s a foul we all saw it on national television,” Russell posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the game.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” Lakers superstar LeBron James told reporters.
“D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive. What the f**k do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]? It doesn’t make sense to me,” he added, before walking out of the press conference.
It’s fair to say the outlook is increasingly bleak for the Lakers, who have now lost 10 games in a row against the Nuggets. It will take a monumental turnaround in fortunes for Los Angeles to reach the next round.
Embiid and 76ers collapse against Knicks, Cavs cruise past Magic
The Philadelphia 76ers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against the New York Knicks on Monday, somehow giving up eight points in the final 27.1 seconds to lose 104-101 in one of the most remarkable playoff finales Madison Square Garden has ever witnessed.
Leading 101-96 with 47 seconds remaining, the 76ers looked on course to level the series until one of the all-time worst playoff capitulations.
After Sixers guard Kyle Lowry missed the second of his two free throws, the Knicks came down the floor and Jalen Brunson saw his three-point attempt bounce fortuitously off the front of the rim and in.
The 76ers then turned the ball over from the inbounds play as Tyrese Maxey was stripped by New York forward Josh Hart, before Donte DiVincenzo eventually nailed another three-pointer to give the Knicks a 102-101 lead.
Maxey then had his layup blocked, leaving the 76ers with no option but to foul OG Anunoby after he had collected the rebound.
Anunoby hit both of his free throws to give the Knicks a 104-101 lead, with Embiid then bricking his three-point attempt with the last shot of the game to give the Knicks a crucial 2-0 lead and extend the defending NBA MVP’s underwhelming playoff record.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to a 96-86 victory over the Orlando Magic to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Cavs were led by a game-high 23 points from Donovan Mitchell, while big man Jarrett Allen had 16 points, 20 rebounds, two steals and three blocks.