Jamal Murray Tore The Lakers Hearts Out With A Game-Winning Buzzer-Beater In Game 2

There’s an immediate frontrunner for the best game of the 2024 NBA playoffs, and it’s going to be awfully hard to beat. Despite trailing by as many as 20 points in the second half of Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending champion Denver Nuggets were able to scratch and claw their way back into the game and pick up a thrilling 101-99 win thanks to the heroics of Jamal Murray.

While Los Angeles seemed to be in total control in the third quarter of the game, the sense of inevitability that made Denver champions reared its head. The team kept chipping away at the lead, and while they could never quite get over the hump, they slowly but surely got back into it. And then, after a wild sequence with 75 seconds remaining ended with a Michael Porter Jr. triple, the Nuggets tied it up for the first time since the game was 3-3 in the first.

The two teams traded buckets down the stretch, and with 16 seconds remaining, LeBron James — who was nothing short of brilliant on the evening — missed a jumper that got corralled by Porter. He gave the ball to Murray, who brought the ball up the court, got to his spot despite being hounded by Anthony Davis, and drilled a jumper as time expired.

Murray had a rough shooting night, as he had 20 points on 9-for-24 shooting. Despite that, he was able to come up big late, as he had 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including what might go down as the best shot of his career. As a result, the Nuggets picked up their 10th win in a row over the Lakers, and they find themselves in total control of their series as it shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.