Murray’s Buzzer Beater Lifts Nuggets Over Lakers
In yet another tight matchup between two of the best teams in the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets who took Game One, narrowly edged out the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 as a jump shot taken by Jamal Murray swished through the rim as time expired. As always Denver was led by their MVP-caliber center, Nikola Jokic, who had a stellar performance, recording a triple-double with 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists. Jokic’s dominant presence in the paint and his ability to facilitate the offense proved to be crucial for the Nuggets’ victory. Joining Jokic in the scoring department was Michael Porter Jr., who contributed 22 points and nine rebounds, and Murray, who added 20 points and five assists. Aaron Gordon also had a solid outing with 14 points and seven rebounds, providing valuable support to the Nuggets’ starting lineup.
On the other side, the Lakers were led by their dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Davis put up 32 points and 11 rebounds on an efficient 14-19 shooting, while James scored 26 points, eight rebounds, and dished out 12 assists, showcasing his playmaking abilities. Despite the great performances and efforts of Davis and James, the Lakers struggled to find consistent scoring from their supporting cast. D'Angelo Russell chipped in with 23 points on seven made three-point attempts, but the bench production was extremely limited, with only Taurean Prince scoring six points.
The game came down to the wire and while it may have looked like it was going to be a Lakers victory for a while, Murray’s last-second shot put that picture to rest. This win marks the tenth time in a row that the Nuggets have beat the Lakers and it makes us all wonder: Will this series be yet another Denver sweep against Los Angeles? Unless some of the other Lakers players besides Davis and James step up it looks like it very well could be. Will Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Russell, Prince, and others be able to give the dynamic duo of James and Davis the help they need to come back in this series, or will reigning MVP Nikola Jokic head one step closer to being a two-time NBA Champion?
