Source: AAron Ontiveroz / Getty
Last night capped off what may have been one of the most exciting nights in NBA playoff history.
It was topped off with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Denver Nuggets in the Mile High City.
At first, it appeared the Lakers had learned their lesson and made adjustments to keep up with the reigning champions, and they even managed to have a 20-point lead in the second half. Anthony Davis was largely responsible for that, having 24 points on 11 of 12 shooting, aided by D’Angelo Russell‘s 18 first-half points.
But with the Nuggets winning 10 of its last games against the Lakers, you knew Nikola Jokić wouldn’t let it be easy; a comeback was charted. Jamal Murray –who missed 13 of his first 16 shots– dropped in 14 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Davis fell apart, scoring just eight points in the second half, and was part of the buzzer-beating play when Murray took a jumper over the near 7-footer to win the game, 101-99.
As the shot poured in, he fell to the court, and his teammates surrounded him, so he never got to see the ball go in. Still, he described the moments leading up to the shot to ESPN afterward.
“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. … I just beat him to the spot, beat him to my spot, elevated, went through my shot and I’m thankful enough that was one of the few that went down for me,” Murray said on TNT.
While it was a great moment for the Nuggets to have a comfy 2-0 lead as they head back to Los Angeles, LeBron James had a bone to pick with the officiating crew over a play involving Michael Porter Jr. and D’Angelo Russell that eventually was overturned after Nuggets Head coach, Michael Malone, challenged it.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” James said. “D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive,” James said. “What the f-ck do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]? It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Then, as he left the press room, he added, “It’s f-cking stupid.”
Davis had an even more visceral reaction to the game’s final play. When asked about the moment, he plainly said, “Jamal Murray Made a shot,” then stormed off.
