DENVER — The Denver Nuggets defied all odds Monday night at Ball Arena, overcoming a 20-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round and take a 2-0 series lead.
A step-back, fadeaway jump shot from Nuggets guard Jamal Murray at the buzzer sealed the win in an instant classic.
It marks the 10th straight win for Denver over Los Angeles, dating back to January of last year.
Relive Murray's heroic shot
Step inside Ball Arena for the moment Jamal Murray hit a fadeaway buzzer-beater over Lakers star Anthony Davis to seal an unbelievable comeback in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round.
Nikola Jokic led the feverish second-half comeback. He finished with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists on the night, despite going 20 game minutes without a bucket between the first and third quarters.
It was the fourth time in Jokic's career he's recorded at least 25 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a postseason game. No other player in history has more than two such games in the playoffs.
Murray's heroics came on an otherwise pedestrian night. He shot just 9-of-24 from the field. Michael Porter Jr. scored 22 points for Denver, including 6 threes. He also grabbed nine boards.
The Nuggets spoiled a big night for Lakers big man Anthony Davis, who scored 32 of his own, including 24 in the first half.
At multiple points in the third quarter, the Lakers had a 95% chance to win the game, according to ESPN’s win probability metric, before the Nuggets mounted their incredible comeback.
D'Angelo Russell hit 6 first-half threes en route to a 23-point night for LA. Lebron James added 26 of his own.
WHAT A BUCKET. THIS IS JAMAL MURRAY EVERYONE. 🏹 pic.twitter.com/xfihf0lXAe
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 23, 2024
JAMAL MURRAY. GAME WINNER. pic.twitter.com/h4ZZ4SX75P
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 23, 2024
This story will be updated.
Denver Nuggets first-round schedule
Here's a look at how you can watch all of Denver's first-round playoff games against Los Angeles (all times MT):
- Game 3: Nuggets vs. Lakers; Thursday, April 25 (8 p.m., TNT)
- Game 4: Nuggets vs. Lakers; Saturday, April 27 (6:30 p.m., Denver7)
- Game 5: Lakers vs. Nuggets; Monday, April 29 (TBD, TBD)* - if necessary
- Game 6: Nuggets vs. Lakers; Thursday, May 2 (TBD, TBD)* - if necessary
- Game 7: Lakers vs. Nuggets; Saturday, May 4 (TBD, TNT)* - if necessary