JAMAL Murray shot the winner at the buzzer as the NBA champion Denver Nuggets erased a 20-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99. The win gave them a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference playoff series.
Nikola Jokic delivered a triple-double of 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists for Denver and Murray emerged from his shooting doldrums, with 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets earned their 10th straight win over LeBron James and the Lakers, a dominance that included a sweep of Denver in last season’s Western Conference finals.
The Lakers, led by 32 points and 11 rebounds from Anthony Davis, controlled most of the game, pushing a 59-44 halftime lead to 20 points early in the third quarter.
James scored 26 points and dished out 12 assists, but the Nuggets kept chipping away and pulled within 95-95 on Michael Porter Jr.’s shot with 1:15 left.
James put the Lakers ahead 99-97 with a driving layup but Murray tied it once more with a step-back jumper with 30 seconds left.
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After James missed a three-point attempt, Murray rose above Davis and connected on a fall-away jumper with four-tenths of a second remaining.
“I tell my teammates when I’m struggling, I’m going to look for you,” Murray told broadcaster TNT.
“And every single one of them told me to keep shooting, keep shooting.
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“They just told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it, keep chasing it. I had the ball with a few seconds left and I knew once I made a few, the next ones should go in too.
“I just beat him to my spot and went up, going through my shots,” he said.
“I’m grateful that it was one of the few that came through for me.” (AFP/Z-3)
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