Jamal Murray secures 2nd win for Denver over Lakers
Jamal Murray scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter as a furious finale carried the Denver Nuggets to a 108-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and a 2-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference final series. Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic racked up another triple-double with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists for the Nuggets, but it was Murray who starred when it mattered most. He made six of seven shots, including four of five from three-point range, playing all 12 minutes of a final period in which Jokic and fellow starters Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon went scoreless. Murray's exploits were enough for a Nuggets team that had kept it close but couldn't find a way past LeBron James and the Lakers through the first three periods at Denver's Ball Arena. "I missed some really good looks in the first half," Murray, who made just five of 17 shots through the first three quarters, told broadcaster ESPN. "My team told me to keep shooting. I was getting the looks I wanted. The good thing was I didn't stop shooting." James and Austin Reaves scored 22 points apiece for the Lakers and Japanese reserve forward Rui Hachimura delivered a brilliant 21 points off the bench, but the Lakers couldn't stem the tide once Murray got going. "They tested us," Murray said. "They pushed the ball, they made shots late, they switched it up. I just thought we stayed disciplined, even when they went on runs... we were able to make the necessary adjustments." Murray, who starred as the Nuggets reached the Western Conference finals in 2020 playoffs but missed the last two post-seasons after tearing a left knee ligament in April of 2021, said the Nuggets will need to show the same poise in game three in Los Angeles on Saturday. (AFP)