And history repeated itself. The Lakers They fought against Denver, they were superior in large stretches of the game and at times it seemed like they had it in their hand... but the victory went to the current champions. With a spectacular second half, the Nuggets came back to the rhythm of Nikola Jokic and stabbed the final dagger into the heart of their rival through Jamal Murray, who stood up against Anthony Davis in the last breath to put the final 101-99 in the score and leave the series 2-0 in their favor.
At this point the Lakers They must be wondering what they have to do to beat Colorado. Between the last two seasons they have accumulated eleven consecutive defeats and the feeling is that no matter what happens for 48 minutes, the final result for them is defeat. Last night, after competing in Game 1, they went one step further to build a lead of up to 20 points at the beginning of the third quarter. They seemed to have the game under control, but Denver used their best strengths as a roller to leave them with only 40 points in the second half. It was a fantastic exercise by Michael Malone's boys, one that reminds us that the ring they got a year ago was nothing like a coincidence.
Beyond being 2-0 down, it now remains to be seen how the Californians recover from this blow. Murray's basket at the buzzer marked the first lead on the scoreboard for Colorado since the initial 5-3... Yes, the Lakers They were winning the entire match only to end up losing just as time expired. Without a doubt, a cruel end for them.
Within the emotion overflowing in Nuggets and the cold that ran through the Lakers three to see Murray's shot go in, we cannot leave without highlighting Nikola Jokic's basketball once again. The one who for many is currently the best player in the world signed a tremendous triple-double of 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. His game was once again sublime and was accompanied by 20 points from the hero Murray and another 22 from Michael Porter Jr., who supported Denver's outside game with six triples.
On the part of Los Angeles, their stars once again performed at a high level despite the fact that it was not enough for them to win. Anthony Davis had a double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds and LeBron James came close to the triple-double with 23 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds. Russell, for his part, contributed 26 points.
Not even based on triples
The most complicated thing about facing the Nuggets is that they may be the only team that can win any game without scoring three-pointers. Last night the Angelenos improved enormously from the three-point line to hit up to 43,3% of their shots – highlighting D'Angelo Russell's 7 of 11 – while Denver did not exceed 23,5%. Not even because of that they could add a victory that at this point is already a true obsession.
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