The Lakers fell to a heartbreaking 99-101 Game 2 loss against the Nuggets. The Lakers enjoyed a lead as large as 20 points in the third quarter, but the Nuggets crawled back into the game, taking the lead with a buzzer-beating fadeaway from Jamal Murray over Anthony Davis. Fans are stunned to see the Lakers lose yet again to Denver.
Heartbreaker pic.twitter.com/E4pf5SPq0T
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 23, 2024
Fans joked about the Lakers being cursed in their matchup against the Nuggets.
The Lakers are actually cursed to never beat the Nuggets they physically are unable
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) April 23, 2024
Fans joked about how the Lakers played a near-flawless game just for Jamal Murray to end their hopes of a win.
THE LAKERS THREW EVERYTHING THEY HAD AT THE NUGGETS AND JAMAL MURRAY SAID HAVE FUN ON THE PLANE RIDE HOME BOYS
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) April 23, 2024
Hornets’ forward Grant Williams couldn’t keep himself from commenting on the intensity of the matchup.
I love NBA BASKETBALL. This game is why playoffs are so special. @NBAonTNT
— Grant Williams (@Grant2Will) April 23, 2024
Fans hailed this as one of the best playoff games in recent times.
there is genuinely nothing that compares to playoff basketball
— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) April 23, 2024
Fans joked about the Nuggets doing to LeBron and the Lakers what he did to the Raptors when he was playing in Cleveland.
I haven’t seen a team own another team like this since Cavs Raptors the Nuggets completely psychologically own everyone on that Lakers squad
— Aligned RB (@RyB_311) April 23, 2024
The script for the Lakers vs. Nuggets rivalry remains unchanged with this Game 2 performance and fans noticed it.
I love the Nuggets/Lakers Playoff games so much. They’re all the same.
Lebron plays incredible. AD plays incredible. Lakers get huge lead. Bunch of media people say the Lakers are super dangerous….Jokic gets a triple double….Nuggets win
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) April 23, 2024
Fans joked about how Canada-native Jamal Murray is giving LeBron his own version of ‘LeBronto’ with the Nuggets-Lakers rivalry.
A man from Kitchener is giving LeBron his own version of LeBronto 😭😭😭😭
— William Lou (@william_lou) April 23, 2024
The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis’ 32 points and 11 rebounds, though his production dropped off entirely in the fourth quarter. LeBron James was cooking late in the game and ended with 26 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists, but missed a wide-open three that would have iced the game. D’Angelo Russell overcame his Denver struggles to finally have a good night, putting up 23 points in the loss.
Nikola Jokic had another historic stat line in this win, putting up 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists. Jamal Murray overcame a slow start to the game to end it with 20 points and a game-winning shot.
— Gonzalo Vázquez (@GVazquezNY) April 23, 2024
Michael Porter Jr. made a lot of timely shots to end the night with 22 points and nine rebounds.
What Can The Lakers Do?
Everyone will be hoping that the Lakers have a home miracle planned to steal Game 3 and 4 at the Crypto.com Arena, but it’s hard to even pinpoint what they need to win. Everything needs to be absolutely perfect for them to succeed, including big production from all role-players such as Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and bench pieces.
There can’t be any negative minutes on the roster, which likely means removing Spencer Dinwiddie from the rotation instantly. The hopes of Jarred Vanderbilt returning give the Lakers another defensive option to slow down the Nuggets’ frontcourt, as Davis did everything in his power to limit Jokic tonight and it still didn’t work.
The room for schematic tweaks has almost entirely dried up for the Lakers. They have played objectively great basketball through Games 1 and 2, but it doesn’t match up to what the Nuggets can achieve. It’s a shame and honestly quite sad to see an elite team like the Lakers play as well as they can and still come up short.
Blowing a 20-point lead is inexcusable, as the lead started torpedoing after Darvin Ham made substitutions that brought in Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince for poor minutes. LeBron could have sealed the game with an open three at the end, so there were mistakes they made. Unless the Lakers find robotic efficiency, this series might just end in another sweep.
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