Jamal Murray has done it again.
After hitting a wild buzzer-beater in Game 2 of the series, the Denver Nuggets star scored another game-winning run on Monday night, officially ending the playoff series opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the score tied in the final minutes of the game, Murray expertly made a jumper over Austin Reaves from just inside the free throw line to seal a 108-106 victory over the Lakers. His shot fell with less than four seconds left, but the Lakers had no timeouts, so there wasn't enough time to respond.
With this, the Nuggets officially won the series against the Lakers 4-1 and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals. They will face the Minnesota Timberwolves, who defeated the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the series.
Murray, who was ruled out Monday night because of a calf strain, hit a buzzer-beater while falling wide in Game 2 to give the Nuggets a 2-0 lead.
“I'm speechless. It's a dream come true,” Murray said on TNT. “I don't know how the fans were on our side to get the game done the way it did. I don't know what to say. We're just happy.”
The Lakers, who were swept by the Nuggets in last season's Western Conference Finals, have lost in the opening round of the playoffs twice in the past four seasons.
Lakers stumble due to Anthony Davis injury
After the Lakers held a slight lead at the break, the Lakers nearly lost Davis right after the break thanks to a 12-0 run that rallied from an early hole in the second quarter.
Davis collided with Michael Porter Jr. early in the second half and took a shot to his left shoulder. The two hit the middle of the lane, and Davis immediately fell hard to the court. He also remained seated for several minutes, clearly in severe pain, but eventually got up and walked to the bench.
The shot itself didn't look dramatic, but it clearly hit Davis in the right spot and left an impact. He remained in the game after the timeout, but only grabbed him by the neck and let his arm dangle during the next few possessions. At this point, he had 16 points and 9 rebounds. He finished with 17 points and 15 boards.
Despite the injury, the Lakers briefly extended their lead to nine points near the middle of the period on LeBron James' big 3-pointer. Davis, on the other hand, has been of little use offensively since then. When he grabbed his 10th rebound of the night, he immediately grabbed his shoulder in pain.
The Lakers' nine-point advantage quickly disappeared. The Nuggets took the lead just minutes later with a huge 3-pointer that sparked a 19-5 run, even though Porter hit a big shot that sent him flying across the court.
Davis returned to the locker room late in the period, but returned to the court for his fourth start. The Lakers briefly took the lead midway through the final period, but Murray dropped four quick points, threw a huge dunk over James, and immediately bent over James under the rim.
Both teams were in a back-and-forth game until the end, but Murray made a huge 3-point shot and the Nuggets regained a two-point lead with one minute left. James made two free throws at the other end to tie the score at 106-106 and give Murray the winner.
James fell just short of a triple-double for the Lakers. He had 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, 11 assists and nine rebounds in the loss. Reaves added 19 points.
Murray led the Nuggets with 32 points and seven assists, going 5-of-10 from behind the basket. Porter had 26 points and Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists.
The Nuggets will face the Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals starting Saturday in Denver. Minnesota dominated the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night in their first playoff series in 20 years.