LeBron James rants at NBA’s replay center for calls, Lakers lose on buzzer-beater, trail Denver 2-0
BY PAT GRAHAM
Updated 12:05 PM GMT+5, April 23, 2024
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DENVER (AP) — LeBron James was seeing red after the Los Angeles Lakers watched a golden opportunity slip away.
His frustration wasn’t so much centered on blowing a 20-point lead. Or his late missed 3-pointer that rimmed out with the game tied. Or Jamal Murray’s fadeaway buzzer-beater that gave the Denver Nuggets a 101-99 win over the Lakers in Game 2 of their first-round series Monday night.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” said James, whose team heads back to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday facing a 2-0 deficit. “D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on the drive. What the (expletive) do we have a replay center ... it doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense. It bothers me.”
James wasn’t his usually expansive self in his postgame interview after the Lakers watched Murray and the Nuggets storm back from a 68-48 hole to capture their 10th straight win over the Lakers.
The Nuggets have now won 10 straight games against the Lakers as their playoff series heads to Los Angeles
Jamal Murray saved the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
Murray hit a ridiculous fadeaway buzzer-beater over Anthony Davis to lift the Nuggets past the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series. Murray, with the game tied as time was winding down, drove at Davis before he stepped back and fired.
Murray fell into the Nuggets bench as his shot went down perfectly over the Lakers big man, which sparked a wild celebration at Ball Arena in Denver. The photo of the shot itself was incredible, too.
“If it wasn’t for my teammates, I might not even get to that shot.”
Jamal Murray joins TNT after calling game vs. the Lakers pic.twitter.com/g1lfEVxk26
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 23, 2024
After missing 13 of his first 16 shots, Murray had 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter on Monday night, which helped spark a 20-point comeback in the second half. The defending champions now hold a 2-0 series lead over the Lakers as the series heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night.
The Nuggets have now won 10 straight games against the Lakers. The buzzer-beater was just the third in the playoffs since 2000 that completed a 20-point comeback or larger, according to ESPN, and the first since Luka Dončić did so in 2020.
Anthony Davis, Lakers jump up early
Davis and the Lakers were in perfect position to even the series Monday night.
Davis dominated in the first half, and there seemed to be nothing Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets could do to stop him. He had 24 points and shot a near-perfect 11 of 12 from the field in the first two quarters, and helped power the Lakers on a massive 21-7 run to close out the second quarter. That gave them a 15-point lead at the break. D’Angelo Russell had 18 points in the first half, too, after going 6 of 7 from behind the arc.
LeBron James rants at NBA’s replay center for calls, Lakers lose on buzzer-beater, trail Denver 2-0
BY PAT GRAHAM
Updated 12:05 PM GMT+5, April 23, 2024
Share
DENVER (AP) — LeBron James was seeing red after the Los Angeles Lakers watched a golden opportunity slip away.
His frustration wasn’t so much centered on blowing a 20-point lead. Or his late missed 3-pointer that rimmed out with the game tied. Or Jamal Murray’s fadeaway buzzer-beater that gave the Denver Nuggets a 101-99 win over the Lakers in Game 2 of their first-round series Monday night.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” said James, whose team heads back to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday facing a 2-0 deficit. “D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on the drive. What the (expletive) do we have a replay center ... it doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense. It bothers me.”
James wasn’t his usually expansive self in his postgame interview after the Lakers watched Murray and the Nuggets storm back from a 68-48 hole to capture their 10th straight win over the Lakers.
The Nuggets have now won 10 straight games against the Lakers as their playoff series heads to Los Angeles
Jamal Murray saved the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
Murray hit a ridiculous fadeaway buzzer-beater over Anthony Davis to lift the Nuggets past the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series. Murray, with the game tied as time was winding down, drove at Davis before he stepped back and fired.
Murray fell into the Nuggets bench as his shot went down perfectly over the Lakers big man, which sparked a wild celebration at Ball Arena in Denver. The photo of the shot itself was incredible, too.
“If it wasn’t for my teammates, I might not even get to that shot.”
Jamal Murray joins TNT after calling game vs. the Lakers pic.twitter.com/g1lfEVxk26
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 23, 2024
After missing 13 of his first 16 shots, Murray had 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter on Monday night, which helped spark a 20-point comeback in the second half. The defending champions now hold a 2-0 series lead over the Lakers as the series heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night.
The Nuggets have now won 10 straight games against the Lakers. The buzzer-beater was just the third in the playoffs since 2000 that completed a 20-point comeback or larger, according to ESPN, and the first since Luka Dončić did so in 2020.
Anthony Davis, Lakers jump up early
Davis and the Lakers were in perfect position to even the series Monday night.
Davis dominated in the first half, and there seemed to be nothing Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets could do to stop him. He had 24 points and shot a near-perfect 11 of 12 from the field in the first two quarters, and helped power the Lakers on a massive 21-7 run to close out the second quarter. That gave them a 15-point lead at the break. D’Angelo Russell had 18 points in the first half, too, after going 6 of 7 from behind the arc.