WATCH: LeBron James ill-advised 3 that broke Lakers hearts in Game 2 loss
LeBron James went from being the hero to a villain in a matter of minutes in the fourth quarter after the LA Lakers' 101-99 loss in Monday's Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers lost despite a 20-point lead. Similar to the script in most of its 10 straight losses, LA suffered a second-half meltdown that led to the loss.
While James kept the team afloat for most of the fourth quarter with timely 3s and a layup that put the team ahead, he took an ill-advised 3-pointer to close the game with 13 seconds left that didn't fall. James shook off Kentavious-Caldwell Pope, and driving to the rim was the ideal choice. However, James laced up a deep shot and missed it.
Jamal Murray came down the other end and hit the game-winner to complete Denver's stellar comeback.
It was the Lakers' worst nightmare to see another game slip out of their hands against Denver in such a fashion. The Nuggets have been head and shoulders above in their execution, led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray's unstoppable two-man game.
LeBron James gives low-key reaction to missed 3
LeBron James kept it simple when reacting to the potential game-winner he bricked from deep. James didn't dig deep into it, saying:
"I had a wide open look and it rimmed out."
It was just one of those nights for James and the Lakers where they did everything right but failed to deliver in crunch moments, which could've helped them level the series going back to LA, where they would have homecourt advantage. The Lakers shared the common sentiment of moving on from this loss as it went right down to the wire, and they had plenty of moral victories and positive takeaways.
Homecourt advantage for Denver played a part in these two games with the altitude and roaring support from the crowd. The Nuggets, however, have been dominant on the road, too. Nevertheless, LA has found a few adjustments it can continue building off for the decisive Game 3 contest.
A loss puts LeBron James and Co. in a 3-0 hole, which nobody has come back from in the league's history. James was 31, at the peak of his powers, when he led the Cavaliers to a comeback from down 3-1 in the 2016 finals, so a deficit of that sort is also not favoring the Lakers this time against a team this good.