DENVER – Jamal Murray overcame a strained left calf, management’s suggestion that he sit out and another haymaker from the Los Angeles Lakers to score 32 points and sink the game-winner with 3.6 seconds left Monday night.
This sent LeBron James to his first playoff exit and the Denver Nuggets stumbled into the second round with a 108-106 victory in Game 5, which featured 16 lead changes and 10 ties and was only secured when Taurean Prince’s breakthrough at midcourt fell short as time expired.
“Shout out to the Lakers, they gave us a great series,” said Murray, who also hit the franchise’s first playoff buzzer-beater in Game 2.
“These are pictures you dream about as a kid,” said Murray, who called this one just “a little better.”
If it weren’t for his dogged determination – and defiance – Murray would never have had the chance to seal the series.
“I got there a little early today to see if I could go, and I felt like I could and they just didn’t want me to take any chances,” said Murray, who warmed up with an ice pack strapped to his injured calf. “They told me no. They told me no.
“And I didn’t say no. I didn’t want to leave my teammates out there,” added Murray, who has missed 23 games due to injury in 2023-24. Point, everyone is going through something and I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I wasn’t able to play this game.
“I’m really happy that they listened to me — and listened to me by listening to my body — and just trusted me.”
James’ two free throws tied it at 106 with 26 seconds remaining and the Nuggets, just as they did in Game 2, avoided the timeout and Murray caught the ball on a high screen and rolled to his left, shaking Austin Reaves as he crossed the lane and hit the shot from 14 feet.
“This kid is a warrior, man,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “The bigger the moment, the kid continues to shine.”
Nikola Jokic, who committed seven uncharacteristic turnovers, narrowly missed his 19th career playoff triple-double with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr.
James had 30 points and 11 assists and Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds, but looked troubled down the stretch after slamming his left shoulder into Porter in the second half.
The Nuggets advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round starting next weekend. That series begins in Denver, where the Nuggets are 36-8 at the top of the Western Conference, including 3-0 in the playoffs.
Not that it was easy.
The Nuggets have trailed for about three-quarters of the minutes in this series, they’ve battled prolonged shooting slumps, and they’re a banged-up group that can definitely use the rest.
“First of all, hats off to them,” James said. “Defenders of champions. They are a great team. Super well trained and made the moves in the final stretch to win the series. You give credit where it’s due, that’s for sure.”
Davis matched Murray’s 16 first-half points and the Lakers led 53-50 at halftime. They increased that lead to nine points, but the Nuggets closed on a 21-10 run to take an 81-79 lead into the fourth quarter, which was tight until the buzzer.
The Nuggets, who defeated the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last summer en route to winning the franchise’s first NBA championship, defeated the Lakers for the 12th time in the last 13 games.
The only other time James was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs was in 2021, when the Phoenix Suns beat LA in six games.
So this was the shortest of James’ 17 trips to the playoffs, despite the Lakers pushing the champions to the brink in all five games.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team despite everything that’s happened,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham, who will certainly be in the hot seat. “Of course the series wasn’t in our favor, it didn’t start the way we wanted, but to win that one at home, to fight tooth and nail today to get this one, our guys showed a lot of courage and a lot of character.”
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