Mistakes from LeBron James and Anthony Davis doom Lakers in Game 2 loss
The bet the Lakers made at the NBA’s trade deadline in early February was the same one they made in the summer of 2019 when they basically traded everything to form one of the NBA’s most talented duos.
That gamble, which has paid out a title and busted under repeated injuries, was that as long as the Lakers had Anthony Davis and LeBron James on the court when the games mattered most, they’d have a shot.
It’s why the Lakers re-made their roster, rebuilt their depth, added more scoring and defending and playmaking. It’s why they’re playing in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.
But with the crowd waving white towels, chanting “Beat LA” and fueling the No. 1-seeded Nuggets through a fourth-quarter comeback, it wasn’t because James and Davis didn’t have enough help.
Michael Malone just wants his respect
NBA coaches and players always talk about tuning out noise, but Nuggets coach Michael Malone is instead using criticism of his team as fuel for spicy playoff press conferences as his team leads the Western Conference finals 2-0.
When asked after Thursday’s Game 2 win over the Lakers if the Nuggets have “a chip on their shoulder,” Malone told reporters that he hopes so.
“I think a lot of our guys, to be honest, they may not admit this or not, but you win Game 1 of the playoffs and all everybody talked about was the Lakers,” Malone said. “Let’s be honest, that’s what the national narrative was: ‘Hey, the Lakers are fine, they’re down 1-0, but they figured something out.’ No one talked about [how] Nikola [Jokic] just had a historic performance. He’s got 13 triple-doubles now, third all-time. What he’s doing is just incredible, but the narrative wasn’t about the Nuggets. The narrative wasn’t about Nikola. The narrative was about the Lakers and their adjustments.
“So you put that in your pipe, you smoke it and you come back and you know what, we’re going to go up 2-0.”
Before the game, Malone made a passive-aggressive reference to the conversation about how the Lakers had earned momentum in the fourth quarter of Game 1 by matching Rui Hachimura up with Jokic defensively.
Nuggets hold off Lakers in fourth quarter to win Game 2
The Lakers had their chances, but still don’t have any wins in the Western Conference finals.
The Nuggets shocked the Lakers with an avalanche of three-pointers early in the fourth and held on with key free throws to earn a 108-103 win during Game 2 of the best-of-seven series.
After two close games during which they had chances late, the Lakers return home down 0-2 in the series with Game 3 scheduled for Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
Jamal Murray exploded for 23 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 37 total with 10 rebounds.
LeBron James had 22 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, but missed all six of his three-point shots. Austin Reaves kept the Lakers in it late with key three-point shooting and finished with 22 points, including five made threes. Rui Hachimura lifted the Lakers off the bench with 21 points.
The Nuggets trailed by three entering the fourth quarter, but blazed to a 12-point lead behind Murray’s scoring and Nikola Jokic’s play-making. The two-time MVP was scoreless in the fourth quarter, but had three assists in the frame to finish with his second consecutive triple-double with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.
Missed layup from LeBron James haunts Lakers
The Lakers got the turnover they needed, but LeBron James missed a critical layup, forcing the Lakers to play the foul game down 105-101 with 19.4 seconds to go.
James intercepted a pass from Jamal Murray and drove to the basket, but his looping shot around Murray dribbled off the rim. Murray grabbed the rebound, was fouled and sank both free throws. The Lakers quickly scored on a James layup on the next possession.
Lakers trying to complete another fourth-quarter comeback
The Nuggets led by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, but are trying to hang on to a four-point lead with 34.2 seconds remaining.
The Lakers trail 103-99 after Anthony Davis’s corner three-pointer rattled in and out. The Nuggets grabbed the rebound and called a timeout after they got trapped in the corner.
Bank is open for Austin Reaves
Austin Reaves banked in a three-pointer with 1:07 remaining to get the Lakers back within two: 101-99.
LeBron James was tying his shoe on the possession, but even with a man-down, the Lakers were able to score from Reaves, who has 20 points.
Lakers respond to cut lead to five
Buckle up, friends.
The Lakers responded to the Nuggets’ 12-point lead with seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to five.
Denver leads 99-94 with 3:37 remaining.
Anthony Davis and Anthony Reaves have both hit key three-pointers to help stop the Nuggets run. Davis drained a corner three to force a Nuggets timeout.
Davis has 16 points and 11 rebounds. Reaves has 17 points and five assists.
Nuggets blitzing Lakers in fourth quarter
Jamal Murray is feeling himself now.
The Denver guard is four-of-four from the floor in the fourth quarter, including three three-pointers, and the Nuggets have a 96-84 lead with 5:32 remaining.
After draining a 30-foot three, Murray stole the ball on the defensive end to start another lethal Nuggets fastbreak. Nikola Jokic assisted a three by Michael Porter Jr., who has 16 points.
Jokic has 23 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists. The Nuggets are on a 15-1 run since the 9:21 mark of the fourth quarter.
Jamal Murray has arrived
The Nuggets and Lakers combined for six straight missed shots before Jamal Murray laced a long three-pointer to put the Nuggets up 87-83 with 7:09 remaining.
After a dismal start, Murray has 22 points on eight-of-20 shooting. He has made four of 11 three-pointers, including two in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets are on a 23-9 extended run.
While the Nuggets are finding their shooting stride, the Lakers have stayed cold from distance. They’re five-of-25 from three. LeBron James has missed all six of his shots from beyond the arc.
Nuggets jump ahead early in fourth
Jamal Murray gave the Nuggets their first lead of the second half with a three-pointer at the 9:21 mark of the fourth quarter.
Murray has 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Nuggets lead 84-83 with 8:37 remaining.
Michael Porter Jr. tied the game with a three-pointer to open the scoring in the fourth quarter. The Lakers responded with a floater from Lonnie Walker IV to jump back in front by two.
Porter has 13 points.
LeBron James has missed all five of his three-point shots tonight and took two in the fourth quarter. He has 16 points.
Lakers lead by three going into fourth quarter
The Nuggets tied the game. The Lakers responded.
The Lakers lead 79-76 entering the fourth quarter after finishing the third quarter on a quick 5-2 run. Denver only scored on a defensive goaltending call against Anthony Davis on a Nikola Jokic tip shot at the buzzer.
Jokic has 23 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as the Nuggets put together their comeback behind Jokic’s playmaking. Jamal Murray has 14 points on labored five-of-17 shooting.
Rui Hachimura has a team-high 19 points. LeBron James has 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Rui Hachimura’s perfect shooting night ends as Nuggets tie score
Rui Hachimura has finally missed a shot.
After making his first eight shots from the field, he was off the mark on a three-pointer with 2:26 left, which turned into a defensive rebound from the Nuggets and game-tying shot from Jamal Murray on the other end.
Murray tied the game at 74-47 with 2:10 remaining in the third.
Hachimura has 19 points.
Lakers clinging to two-point lead
Here come the Nuggets.
Denver is on an 8-0 run and now trails by just two: 74-72 with 2:34 to go in the third.
Nikola Jokic is just one assist shy of a triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. He assisted two consecutive Nuggets baskets during the run.
Nuggets put together quick third-quarter run
Nikola Jokic’s teammates have entered the chat.
A short jumper from Jamal Murray and a three from Michael Porter Jr. have the Nuggets down 68-62 with 5:51 remaining in the third. The Lakers called a timeout.
Jokic is approaching another triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, but his co-star Murray has been a mostly no-show, allowing the Lakers to go ahead by as many as 11.
Murray has 12 points on four-of-16 shooting.
The Lakers have four double-digit scorers, led by Rui Hachimura’s 17. LeBron James and Austin Reaves each have 14 points and Anthony Davis has 14, although he has made just two field goals. Davis is seven-of-seven from the free throw line.
Lakers trying to shut down Nikola Jokic show
Nikola Jokic is trying to carry the Nuggets by himself against the Lakers, who lead 64-55 with 8:25 remaining in the third quarter.
Jokic has scored or assisted on all of Denver’s points this quarter, scoring five points on his own and setting up a dunk by Aaron Gordon.
But the Lakers are outshining the two-time MVP as a team with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell all scoring already in the third quarter.
Reaves, who scored the first five Lakers points of the quarter, has 14 points. James has 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Lakers start second half with five-point lead
I scarfed down a quick dinner during recess, so I’m ready for the second half.
The Lakers lead 53-48 behind 17 points from Rui Hachimura, who made all seven of his shots from the field and is now tied with Lamar Odom for the best shooting half in a playoff game by a Laker during the last 25 years.
Lakers hold off Nuggets run to secure first-half lead
The Lakers missed 10 consecutive field goals during more than five minutes as the Nuggets climbed back to within one, but take a 53-48 lead into the locker room after a late surge from LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.
James ended the Lakers shooting drought at the 1:41 mark of the second quarter with a short two-pointer.
Despite missing a point-blank layup and fumbling a wide open dunk in the first half, James has 10 points, five rebounds and six assists. He found first-half star Hachimura on an alley-oop with 26.1 seconds remaining that gave Hachimura a game-high 17 points at halftime.
“Just trying to attack the rim,” Hachimura told ESPN’s Lisa Salters as he walked off the court. “They don’t really have a rim protector.”
Hachimura is seven-of-seven off the bench in 14 minutes.
Nikola Jokic has 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the Nuggets, who are tied on the boards 23-23.
Nuggets cut Lakers lead to five
The Nuggets are on an 8-2 run and trail 47-42 with 5:07 remaining in the second quarter.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s first three-pointer of the game forced the Lakers to take a timeout.
The Nuggets, who played almost perfectly on offense for three quarters on Tuesday, aren’t hitting the same shots tonight. They made 15 of 32 shots from three-point range in Game 1, but are just four-of-12 to start Game 2.
Anthony Davis hit his first field goal of the game with 7:04 remaining in the second quarter and made it a double-whammy as he drew a foul from Michael Porter Jr. Davis finished the three-point play to give the Lakers their largest lead of the game until that point at 11 points, and it sent Porter to the bench with three fouls.
Breaking: LeBron James misses wide-open dunk
Despite a rare dunk blooper from LeBron James, the Lakers lead 40-32 with 7:46 remaining.
James had a wide open dunk that could have extended the Lakers’ second-quarter dominance, but the ball slipped right out of his hands on the way up toward the basket.
The Lakers have still outscored the Nuggets 13-5 during the second quarter, led by a brilliant shift from Rui Hachimura, who has 13 points on six-of-six shooting.
James has six points, three rebounds and three assists.
Nikola Jokic, who spent the early part of the second quarter on the bench, which allowed the Lakers to make their run, has 11 points.
Rui Hachimura carries Lakers to seven-point lead
Could this be the Rui Hachimura game?
The backup big has 11 points on five-of-five shooting in six minutes off the bench as the Lakers lead 34-27 with 9:59 remaining in the second quarter.
Hachimura has scored five straight points, including a three-pointer and a midrange jumper both assisted by LeBron James.
James has four points, taking only two shots, with three rebounds and three assists.
Lakers, Nuggets tied after first quarter
The Lakers are tied 27-27 after the first quarter, but were the victims of a bad offensive goaltending call against Anthony Davis.
Davis remains scoreless from the field after his rebound-putback-dunk with 9.1 seconds remaining was waved off despite a replay showing that the ball was out of the cylinder by the time he grabbed it out of the air.
Referees were a focal point during the first quarter as two Nuggets players (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr.) each picked up two fouls and D’Angelo Russell was called for a flagrant foul that the ESPN broadcast crew strongly disagreed with.
Rui Hachimura is off to another strong start off the bench with six points in three minutes on three-of-three shooting.
Nikola Jokic has nine points, two rebounds and two assists.
D’Angelo Russell pushes Lakers back in front
Five consecutive points from D’Angelo Russell gave the Lakers a 21-20 lead with 3:56 remaining in the first quarter.
The guard out of Ohio State has six points and two assists.
The Lakers are reversing their Game 1 fortunes early by crashing the boards. They got embarrassed on the glass on Tuesday, when Nikola Jokic singlehandedly outrebounded them for most of the game, but have eight boards to the Nuggets’ seven.
LeBron James has a team-high three rebounds with two points.
Nuggets respond to Lakers’ fast start
The Lakers are already off to a much better start than the one they had in Game 1, but the Nuggets responded to take a 20-16 lead with 5:44 remaining in the first quarter.
The Lakers jumped out to a 6-0 lead while the Nuggets, who turned the ball over just 11 times in Game 1, had two turnovers early. Former Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also fell into early foul trouble.
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets’ response and each have six points. Jokic, coming off a triple-double in Game 1, also has two assists and two steals.
After breaking out of a slump during a critical point in the series against the Warriors, Austin Reaves has stayed hot with two early threes. He has a team-high seven points.
Michael Porter Jr. is also in foul trouble, picking up two by the 7:26 mark of the first quarter.
Can the Lakers avoid a 2-0 deficit against the Nuggets?
Hello again, this is Thuc Nhi Nguyen, the captain of tonight’s live blog stationed in Los Angeles. My colleagues Dan Woike, Brad Turner and Bill Plaschke are in Denver’s Ball Arena, where the Lakers are trying (again) to do what no other team has accomplished this postseason: beat the Nuggets at home.
The No. 1 seed in the West is 7-0 at home during these playoffs, including a Game 1 win on Tuesday. But the Lakers have yet to lose two consecutive games this postseason too, so something’s got to give tonight.
Jarred Vanderbilt back in starting lineup for Game 2
After a two-game adjustment with Dennis Schroder, Jarred Vanderbilt is back in the Lakers’ starting lineup for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Denver Nuggets.
Vanderbilt will start alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in a starting lineup that is 7-4 in the postseason.
The Nuggets will start Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.
The Lakers inserted Schroder into the lineup in Vanderbilt’s place for the series-clinching Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors in the second round and kept the German guard in the first group during Game 1 against the Nuggets. Schroder played 32 minutes in Game 1, scoring six points with five assists and three rebounds, but putting the 6-foot-8 Vanderbilt back in the lineup offers more size to go against the larger Nuggets starters.
Lakers might have figured out a formula to defend Denver’s Nikola Jokic
DENVER — The Lakers devised a plan on how to deal with the force of nature that is Denver’s Nikola Jokic, a counter plan if that didn’t work and an “escape plan” if that also went sideways against the two-time NBA most valuable player.
As it turned out, the escape plan the Lakers employed in the fourth quarter became a powerful tool and thwarted the effectiveness of Jokic the final 12 minutes.
Yet, overall, the Lakers didn’t do enough early to slow Jokic. He scored, posting 34 points on 12-for-17 shooting, making all three of his three-pointers and seven of eight free throws.
LeBron James fumbles away Lakers’ fierce comeback in Game 1 loss
DENVER — The Lakers were ready to steal it.
LeBron James gave it back.
The Lakers were rolling, the Denver Nuggets were panicking, and the opener of the Western Conference finals at Ball Arena was about to be spun on its head.
Then James lost his mind, or his legs, or both.
It was a valiant effort that should have been rewarded with a stirring victory that should inspire.
It was, instead, a painful failure that could haunt.
Anthony Davis ready to earn ‘the big bucks’ and be a Game 2 star for Lakers
DENVER — When Lakers coach Darvin Ham met with the media Wednesday at the team’s hotel, he used the word “recalibrate” when asked about the size advantage the Denver Nuggets’ starting lineup had the night before in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Ham did not reveal whether there would be a lineup change for Game 2 on Thursday night. He also did not signal any sort of game plan adjustments.
Ham, the first-year coach, never has shown his hand in advance all season and wasn’t about to start now. He knows his team has to play better to avoid falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
One critical early-game mistake doomed Lakers in Game 1 loss to Nuggets
DENVER — Throughout this postseason, rookie coach Darvin Ham and his Lakers staff have made the right choice at the right moment, finding the right game-plan tweak, the right rotation change, the right shift at the right moment.
They did with the way the Lakers defended Memphis in the first round. They did it with the way the Lakers chased Stephen Curry and quieted Klay Thompson against Golden State, and by plugging Lonnie Walker IV into the rotation in Game 4 and starting Dennis Schroder in Game 6 to dethrone the defending champions.
The moment never seemed too big, the Lakers’ Xs and O’s getting A’s.
Ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals at Denver, Ham faced another choice — stick with Schroder in the starting lineup, return to Jarred Vanderbilt or find some magic elsewhere.
Nuggets know their defense must be better to keep ahead of the Lakers
Three years after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope won an NBA championship by witnessing the full range of what LeBron James could do, he is now one game closer to reaching another NBA Finals in part because of the heroics of his newest superstar teammate, Nikola Jokic.
The two-time most valuable player scored 34 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and dished 14 assists in Denver’s Western Conference finals Game 1 win against the Lakers on Tuesday night.
“I feel like the only difference is Bron can jump higher than Jokic,” Caldwell-Pope, the guard in his first season with the Nuggets, told reporters in Denver after the victory. “That’s about the only difference that I can see.”
Betting odds and lines for Lakers vs. Nuggets Game 2
Here are the latest betting lines and odds for the Lakers and Denver Nuggets heading into Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.
Denver is favored by 5.5 points in Game 2. The Lakers’ estimated score is 109 and the Denver Nuggets’ estimated score is 115.
TV and streaming broadcast schedule for Lakers vs. Nuggets
Here’s the broadcast schedule for the remainder of the Lakers-Nuggets playoff series:
