Lakers Blow 20-Point Lead, Lose Game 2 vs. Nuggets 101-99 On Jamal Murray Buzzer-Beater
For most of Monday’s Game 2 in Denver, the Lakers were in position to send the series back to Los Angeles tied at 1 game each. At points, it looked like they were guaranteed to do it, pushing their lead up to 20 in the second half.
But little by little, Denver chipped away. LA’s offense went into a near full hibernation in the second half (38 points) and while they did manage to get a few big buckets down the stretch — a pair of triples from LeBron, a drive and finish from D’Angelo Russell, a baseline jumper from Austin Reaves — it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the loooooooooong stretches of totally stagnant, ineffective offense. Tied on the last possession, the Nuggets put the ball in Jamal Murray’s hands and let him do what Murray does. Stepback jumper over Davis. Game. 101-99, Denver up 2-0, Lakers on life support.
The Lakers got a superhuman effort from Anthony Davis in the first half, especially. Russell bounced back from a horrible Game 1 to hit seven triples. LeBron was huge in the fourth quarter on both sides of the ball, despite fighting fatigue.
But there were enough mistakes and poor performances; Rui Hachimura again was a non-factor, Spencer Dinwiddie and Gabe Vincent combined for zero points in 25 minutes. Darvin Ham missed a chance to challenge what appeared to be a ticky-tack foul on LeBron against Murray down the stretch. Reaves had a critical turnover down the stretch.
This was, in every practical sense, a must-win game. LeBron certainly played like he knew it. Any loss in this game would have been hard to recover from, emotionally. This one, however, was brutal.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: The Lakers blow a huge lead in the second half, and the season is on life support.
SEGMENT 2: Too many little mistakes, too many performances that weren’t up to standard.
SEGMENT 3: The Lakers might get some reinforcements, but are they coming too late?
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27 Comments
AD sayn at points they dont kno what theiR doinG.. iz moRe a shot at LBJ than at Darvin Ham.. that's when they play thRu LBJ oR D-Lo oR himself (Iso or PnR).. the "GReatest mind" in the Game..
Last time I felt like that watching an ending of a game was when my Seahawks lost to New England in the Super Bowl.
Darvin got out coached again. Not blaming him for the collapse, but there were ways to stop the bleeding.
I believe the next coach of the Lakers should be:
1)someone the players respect
2) Have knowledge of both sides offense and defense.
3) Know when to substitute LeBron and AD.
So I am thinking outside the box and believe the Lakers should make LeBRON JAMES Player/coach. Pay him his player salary but not the max. Make up for the rest of the income with coaches salary. Bring in top former head coaches/players who will work with him on pro or college level (Juwan Howard, Rajon Rondo) and let his mind go to work. Recruit top players that will want to play with him and take a haircut on the salary.
At this point they can’t bring in someone the fans don’t know or trust.
Might be the dumbest idea ever, or GENIUS! 😮😅😊
Falz aRGument to blame Darvin Ham.. he'z betta than last seazon, if U watch the playz, sets n concepts.. team betta RecoRd despite the amount of injuRiez n line-up chanGez (buildinG chemistRy while implementinG new concepts n tRyn to develop the youths includinG Reaves, Vando, Cam n Rui with Max n Rooks.. to have an impRoved RecoRd he n staff have done well..) they aRe championship contendaz.. jus a tuff matchup facin the champs fiRs Roun.. IZ..
This game was so annoying, frustrating, and annoying that I woke up at 4 AM this morning to workout then go for a run to blow off my anger with this team 😡😤
The tough part is if LA is on the other side of the bracket they're making it to the conference finals. If they played in the East they're possibly in the finals. But Denver is just a different type of beast. And Jok really is prime Larry Bird. He's prime Magic. May not like hearing mentioned with those names but he is. Personally I'm trying to appreciate every second of his greatness while he's here.
Nuggets are going to sweep them again
Win game 3 and 4 and then I will be optimistic
lets be real, after watching the replay of the DLO foul, that was an easy Flagrant foul – 2 shots and the ball.
I feel like I’m actually grieving after that loss.
Dinwiddie and Vincent hamper us offensively it's like teams know they're not looking to score therefore clogging the paint for ad and Bron Austin and rui disappeareding when we need them the most Bron is to smart to be making these boneheaded plays free max he can play d and score
Rui and the bench killed us😢😢😢
Why does AD and D lo fall off so badly in the 4th quarter against Denver. I looked up ADs stats in the 4th quarter in the last 10 games against Denver and it’s abysmal. And they lose all of these games in the 4th. I can’t take it anymore.
REFS. They make last minute heroes and its ok.
Lebron not worth of a treatment as Kobe for Laker fans! He doesn't deserve max contract for a 40yo. He doesn't the same results as Kobe on his tenure w/the Lakers!I hope he volunteer to move to another team! He's not worth it of a stress by Lakers! Pak his ISO & hero ball 3s late game….pak Lebron..
Can't wait this series be over early next week. We'll find out Darvin Scam got FIRED as soon he started his postgame press conference. Reporter 1st question, how do you feel that you got fired right after Lakers last game?
Silver lining is, Laker fans will be free on their misery watching Darvin Scam. I wish he will be fired as brutal as Frank Vogel during his last playoff game postgame press conference. Lakers won't win a championship again when Lebron still with the team! He needs to move to another team and play w/ Bronny!
Pak Lebron. Laker fans done w/ Lebron.Hw the heck a superstar blunder on the last play on a tie game 30 secs left taking a 3 just 14 secs gone by & missed the shot. To top it all paking Lebron gave Nuggets a chance to run a play 16 secs left. Trade lebron this offseason ASAP!!!!
Dinwiddie isn’t giving you offense or defense…. But I would sub out DLO & AR and keep Gabe Vincent as the other guard on the floor to protect a lead
They totally lost the lead when he went Prince, DLo, & Dinwiddie in the same lineup… that is just handing points to the other team
As soon as the Lakers missed that shot to take the lead with 20 sec to go or so, I looked at my friend, started laughing and said "Murray is totally going to make this."
Im a glass half full guy. the way i see it this means we can move on from this phony LeBron James era, trade AD and fire the bald guy. i believe in Rob Pelinka and I'm willing to give him an opportunity to build a team from scratch. I think he's a good basketball mind he's just been influenced by LeBrons camp into making stupid decisions.
I'm in agreement that Darvin Ham must be fired because he's totally clueless and out to sea as a coach. The roster needs to be overhauled. Lakers need tough 3&D players and a defensive-minded center with height.
Guess it’s all Nuggets fans here, right?
Denver is going try blow the Lakers out in game 3. Denver probably gonna put Gordon on AD all game to wear AD out. I don't know how much LJ have in the tank
The scary part about this series is AD is due to have a bad game. Hopefully it don't happen in L.A. they need games 3 and 4
Trade Lebron for ANY star in the league and the Lakers will be a contender.
17:56 Great Point