The Lakers fell to a heartbreaking 99-101 Game 2 loss against the Nuggets. The Lakers enjoyed a lead as large as 20 points in the third quarter, but the Nuggets crawled back into the game, taking the lead with a buzzer-beating fadeaway from Jamal Murray over Anthony Davis. Fans are stunned to see the Lakers lose yet again to Denver.
Fans joked about how the Lakers played a near-flawless game just for Jamal Murray to end their hopes of a win.
The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis’ 32 points and 11 rebounds, though his production dropped off entirely in the fourth quarter. LeBron James was cooking late in the game and ended with 26 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists, but missed a wide-open three that would have iced the game. D’Angelo Russell overcame his Denver struggles to finally have a good night, putting up 23 points in the loss.
Nikola Jokic had another historic statline in this win, putting up 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists. Jamal Murray overcame a slow start to the game to end it with 20 points and a game-winning shot.
Everyone will be hoping that the Lakers have a home miracle planned to steal Game 3 and 4 at the Crypto.com Arena, but it’s hard to even pinpoint what they need to win. Everything needs to be absolutely perfect for them to succeed, including big production from all role-players such as Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and bench pieces.
There can’t be any negative minutes on the roster, which likely means removing Spencer Dinwiddie from the rotation instantly. The hopes of Jarred Vanderbilt returning give the Lakers another defensive option to slow down the Nuggets’ frontcourt, as Davis did everything in his power to limit Jokic tonight and it still didn’t work.
The room for schematic tweaks has almost entirely dried up for the Lakers. They have played objectively great basketball through Games 1 and 2, but it doesn’t match up to what the Nuggets can achieve. It’s a shame and honestly quite sad to see an elite team like the Lakers play as well as they can and still come up short.
