Jamal Murray saved the day on Monday night.
Murray hit a ridiculous fadeaway buzzer-beater over Anthony Davis to lift the Denver Nuggets past the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series. Murray, with the game tied as time was winding down, drove at Anthony Davis before he stepped back and fired.
Murray fell into the Nuggets bench as his shot went down perfectly over the Lakers big man, which sparked a wild celebration at Ball Arena in Denver.
The Lakers led for most of the game, including by 20 points early in the third quarter. But as they inevitably do, the defending champions got up off the mat and rallied to cut the lead to 10 points entering the fourth quarter.
That’s when two-time MVP Nikola Jokic took over and the Nuggets tied the game with just over a minute remaining.
Jokic finished with a triple-double scoring 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists. Murray had 20 points, but none bigger than his buzzer-beater.
Both teams took turns trading baskets until LeBron James missed a three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining, giving Murray the chance to complete the comeback.
Murray had 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter on Monday night, which helped spark a 20-point comeback in the second half. The defending champions now hold a 2-0 series lead over the Lakers as the series heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night.
The Nuggets have now won 10 straight games against the Lakers.