How the LA Lakers lost another winnable game: 5 factors that led to a 0-2 hole against Denver Nuggets
The LA Lakers will be very disappointed following Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets. Despite the Nuggets winning the first two games of the series at home, the 2021 NBA Western Conference Finals are far from over.
Game 2's blazing start by the Lakers was a complete turnaround from Game 1, where it was the Nuggets who had a sizzling performance right off the bat.
Rui Hachimura took up the slack from a sub-par LeBron James performance, but it wasn’t enough as Jamal Murray was a one-man wrecking crew in the deciding quarter. When the smoke cleared, the Lakers found themselves in a 0-2 hole as Denver Nuggets came away with a thrilling 108-103 victory.
Here are the 5 factors that doomed the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2:
#1. Lack of attention in transition
“Keep the pace.” In one of the Denver huddles, Coach Mike Malone continuously put emphasis on putting pressure on the Lakers with their running game, which kept their heads above water during the LA onslaught.
Having a subpar shooting night, Nicola Jokic spearheaded the Nuggets' response to their coach’s challenge by orchestrating a dizzying pace, especially in the fourth quarter. He ran the Nuggets’ offense like a true point guard.
The Lakers seemed unprepared for such a strategy and found no answer for it.
#2. Lethargic LeBron James
LeBron James didn’t impress in his 280th playoff game. In fact, in six of his drives to the basket, he failed to score on even one. Normally, he would end up dunking on more than half of them.
James missed on a couple of drives, slipped the ball on another two, and was blocked or fouled on two attempts at the basket.
Although LeBron was just a rebound shy of a triple-double with his 22-point, 10-assists, and 9-rebound performance, he failed to connect on his six three-point attempts.
It can be remembered that right after the Game 1 loss, LeBron said: “We’ll be better in Game 2.” However, James played worse in Game 2, missing shot after shot, especially in the clutch. Had he converted on a couple of those attempts, the game result would have probably been in their favor.
#3. LA Lakers bricked at the three-point line
The LA Lakers failed to sustain their strong start by shooting a woeful 8-of-30 from the three-point line.
On a night when LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell, and Dennis Schroder combined for 1-of-14 from beyond the arc, only Austin Reaves carried the fight with his five three-point conversions on nine attempts.
Reaves capped the Lakers’ 7-0 run with one of his three-point shots to cut a nine-point deficit into two, 101-99, which turned out to be their last gasp.
But consecutive three-point misses from LeBron didn’t help the LA Lakers’ cause as the Denver Nuggets held on to another escape, a 108-103 five-point victory.
#4. 4th quarter Murray
With Jokic failing to score a single point in the fourth quarter, it was Murray who took over in the game after having woeful shooting in the first three quarters.
Scoring 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, Murray set a personal record of 4 20-plus-4th-quarter points to give Denver a 2-0 lead in the series.
Murray’s 23 points in the deciding quarter almost equaled the LA Lakers’ total output at 24. He almost singlehandedly towed Denver to a comeback win.
Playing the entire second half of the game, Murray made six of his seven field goal attempts in the final quarter, including four of five from beyond the arc.
#5. A failed effort in the clutch
The LA Lakers this time made the Nuggets play catch-up in most parts of the game, but the table turned in the fourth quarter.
Murray's hot hands gave the Nuggets a comfortable nine-point lead, but the Lakers managed to turn it into a winnable game by trimming Denver's lead to a single possession. From there, the Lakers started misfiring again.
LeBron and Davis could not buy a basket in the clutch, thus, letting the Nuggets come away with another escape win.
However, despite going down 0-2 in the series, the resiliency exhibited by the LA Lakers in hanging on until the final buzzer on the road gives them something to carry into Game 3.
The series switches to LA on Saturday and could be a different story.