Denver takes the second game of the West final 103-108 after a monumental last quarter
Jamal Murray, who was having a bad game, scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter to lead his team to victory
The Denver Nuggets they kept the home court factor after winning 103-108 a new game with a tight end against los angeles lakers and put the 2-0 in the Western final. The Colorado franchise relied on the 37 points and 10 rebounds of a Jamal Murray who was having a mediocre game (14 points after making only 5 of his 17 shots in the first three quarters) but who woke up in the last quarter with 23 points and a spectacular 6 of 7 shooting from the field to despair the Angelenos, who had dominated until then. For his part, Jokic signed a new triple double with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists, adorned with 3 steals. Michael Porter Jr. added 16 points and 7 rebounds and Bruce Brown contributed 12.
In the Lakers, LeBron James also touched the triple double (22 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists, also reaching 2,000 in the ‘play offs’) despite his 0 of 6 triples, Austin Reaves contributed another 22 points and Hachimura he collaborated with 21, but the angels paid for the bad night of Anthony Davis who, although he finished with acceptable figures (18 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks) and was good on defense, signed a disappointing 4 of 15 shooting. In fact, except for Reaves (5 of 9), the Lakers had a very poor performance from beyond the arc, going 3 of 21.
The game started with both teams very even. Either because the Lakers took note of their mistakes in the first game, or because Denver was not able to maintain the magnificent success and combinative play of last Tuesday, the balance was the dominant tone of the first quarter, which closed with a 27-27 which gave a good image of how tight everything was. This period left an unusual image in the NBA, and that is that both teams were unusually protesting, reproaching the referees for each of their decisions. Also striking was the flagrant foul that D’Angelo Russell was called after defending harshly but without malice a penetration on Murray’s counterattack. The referees reviewed the play on video and, despite the fact that the play did not seem to deserve it, they ended up whistling the flagrant against the number 1 of the Angelenos.
The second quarter was very different from the first, with two clearly separate parts. The start was purple and gold, with a 20-9 start that put the 47-36 in the bright This good part of the Lakers had the name and surname of Rui Hachimura. The Japanese came off the bench with a spectacular 7/7 -and 2/2 in free throws- to sign a remarkable 17 points at halftime. However, when the Japanese sat down, he started a flurry of errors by the Lakers, who missed 10 straight shots and allowed Denver to within a point (49-48). The break was reached with a 53-48 after one last rush by the Angelenos (17 of 41 shooting), who won the quarter 26-21.
Those from Los Angeles distributed their attack much more, with Hachimura being the only player on the team to exceed 10 points. LeBron was 10 with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Davis had 7 points but a dismal 1-of-6 shooting from the field and Reaves had 9 points despite his 3-of-10 shooting. On the other side, Denver (19 of 47) relied on its magical duo, with Jokic already close to double double with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists and 6 of 10 shooting, and Murray with 10 points and 5 assists, but with a worrying 3 of 13.
The third quarter followed similar paths to the first. The first 9 minutes were an exchange of baskets by both teams, with the Lakers’ advantages oscillating between 6 and 11 points, but without any of the two teams blatantly going for the game. A new blackout of the Angelenos in attack then led to a 10-0 run for Denver that put the 74-74 in the light, but the locals dried up before getting ahead and the Lakers finished the fourth ahead 79-76 after the referees signaled a goaltending to Anthony Davis by blocking a slap from Jokic on the buzzer.
However, the worst had not come for Californians. Denver started the last quarter with a tremendous 5-20 which, accumulated at the end of the third, meant a quarter of 10-32 and which put the score 84-96, carried away by the awakening of Jamal Murray. The Nuggets point guard uncovered the jar of essences and, after having dozed off for three quarters (14 points and 5 of 17 shots), he swept the Angelenos with 23 points. The Lakers pulled caste and forced a 12-2 run to leave the light in a very tight finish (99-101). However, the decisive shots did not go in and Murray’s free throws condemned those in purple and gold, who have signed two very complete games and have played until the end, but who take a 2-0 against Los Angeles , where they will try to tie the series.