Tuesday, April 30, 2024. 00:25
It’s not the Association final, nor a sweep, but the result remains: the Denver Nuggets still had the best of the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs.
This time, Jamal Murray sent LeBron James and Anthony Davis on vacation following a 108-106 victory in Game 5 of the first-round series.
As was the case during the second game of the series, the Canadian played the hero to launch the celebrations in front of his fans. This gain was difficult to wrest from the Los Angeles troop.
In a series accustomed to leads of at least 10 points from the Lakers only for the Nuggets to reverse the situation and move towards victory, the two teams exchanged blow for blow throughout the fifth game. The Lakers had a slim 53-50 lead at the halfway point and with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, it was tied 99-99 on the board.
After a big rebound under Aaron Gordon’s offensive basket in front of James, he handed the ball to Murray who sank a basket from downtown to put Denver in command 106-104.
James was able to extract a foul from Michael Porter Jr. to find himself at the free throw line. He succeeded in his two attempts to level the score 106 to 106 with 25 seconds left on the clock.
On the next possession, Murray was able to create enough space at the expense of Austin Reaves to attempt a desperate shot that ended up in the back of the basket, giving the Nuggets the precious lead with three seconds left. With the Lakers no longer having any downtime, the final attempt came up short, which made their elimination official.
During the second game, the Canadian was able to beat Anthony Davis to give Denver a 101-99 victory. The one who was a doubtful case for the fifth game due to injury had no doubt which of his winning baskets he preferred.
“This one is better,” Murray compared after the match. It is a dream. With all these fans on our side, to pull it off in such a dramatic way… I’m speechless, it’s incredible. »
Murray ended his evening with 23 points, as many as Porter Jr. Nikola Jokic had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
Among the Lakers, James was the most productive of his team with 26 points. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The Lakers had forced a fifth clash following a 119-108 win to avoid the sweep on Saturday. In 2023, the Nuggets defeated the Lakers in four games to reach the final and ultimately the title of NBA champions.
2024-04-30 04:31:45
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