A trip to the NBA Finals is two victories away for the Nuggets.
All it took was a cameo by Bubble Jamal Murray for the Denver Nuggets to take a 2-0 lead against Los Angeles. Plus, the standard fare from Nikola Joki.
On Thursday, the Nuggets guard led his team to a 108-103 victory over the L.A Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals by playing like the version of himself that became famous in the 2020 playoffs. Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena at 8:30 p.m. ET is Game 3.
Murray not only scored the most points but also pulled down 10 boards, dished out 5 assists, and stole 4 balls. Joki scored 23 points, grabbed 17 boards, dished out 12 assists, and swiped 3 steals in a monster performance.
Jamal Murray’s Spectacular Performance Energizes Broncos’ Offense: A Closer Look
Murray, who had just 14 points going into the final round, scored 23 and came within one point of scoring more than the whole Lakers squad. See how that played out in the Broncos’ offense below:
Denver Nuggets 4th Quarter Scoring Plays:
MPJ 3
Murray 2
Murray 3
Murray 3
Brown 3
Murray 3
MPJ 3
Murray 3
Murray 2
Murray FT
Murray FT
Murray FT
Murray FT
Murray FT
Murray FT
Murray FT— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 19, 2023
Although the Lakers led by double digits for most of the game’s middle three quarters, the Nuggets came back to win. D’Angelo Russell scored 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting, Rui Hachimura scored 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and Austin Reaves scored 22 points on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.
Even though he finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists, LeBron James had some unfortunate moments that night.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1659369719453843459
Nuggets’ Resilience and Hot Shooter Propel Them Closer to Historic NBA Finals Appearance
Both teams were exhausted by the game’s conclusion, but the Nuggets still had their hot shooter. It was sufficient to put them in a position to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in team history.
After the victory, Michael Malone, coach of the Nuggets, didn’t hold back.
With a commanding 2-0 series lead, Malone wasted no time responding to what he regarded as the public narrative surrounding their matchup after Tuesday’s first game.
Understandably, the Lakers would be a media darling with James at the helm, but the Western Conference’s top seed is the Nuggets. They deserved their berth and were the clear favorites going into the matchup.
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