DENVER — Jamaal Murray sank a 15-foot putback jumper and the Denver Nuggets overcame a 20-point second-half deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead. Their Western Conference playoff series.
Murray’s layup, a layup, and the game-winner gave the Nuggets their first lead after 5-3 in the opening minute and gave the reigning NBA champions their 10th straight win over the Lakers. He was the third game-winning buzzer-beater in the last 25 NBA playoff games with a 20-point comeback.
The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night.
Murray’s game-winning layup by LeBron James with 16 seconds remaining tied the game at 99.
Michael Porter Jr. grabbed the rebound with 13 seconds left and the Nuggets didn’t call a timeout.
Instead, Anthony Davis was waiting, took the ball to his right side, stepped back and made the basket just as he heard a buzzer. Murray and Davis collapsed on the Nuggets bench as the roar of the sellout crowd rocked the arena.
Murray finished with 20 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, while Nikola Jokic posted a triple-double with 27 points, 20 boards and 10 assists. Porter added 22 points and Aaron Gordon 14 for Denver.
Davis led the Lakers with 32 points, while James had 26 and D’Angelo Russell added 23 with a career-high seven 3s.
With the Lakers leading 59-44 at halftime and expanding their advantage to 68-48 with two minutes left in the second half, LA looked set to beat Denver for the first time in 494 days. He still led by 10 going into the fourth quarter.
“I don’t have a 20-point game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “You just have to keep chipping away.”
That, they eventually tied at 95-all on Porter’s 3-pointer with 1:15 left.
Russell’s big basket was a layup that gave him a 97-95 lead with a minute to go. Murray was fouled by James and sank both free throws to equalize again.
James tied for LA position with 48 seconds left, but Murray tied it again with a step-back jump at 30 seconds. Then James missed from long range, Porter corralled the rebound and the Nuggets were on their way to one of the biggest upsets in franchise history.
Murray, who started 3-of-16, went 6-for-8 in the fourth quarter.
Russell sank three 3-pointers in the opening minute, matching the most 3-pointers in the Lakers’ last five playoff games against Denver. After going 2-for-15 in last summer’s Western Conference finals, he made just one of nine 3s in the series opener, which led to him being benched in Game 4. He finished 7-of-11.
ESPN Stats & Data and The Associated Press contributed to this report.