Game ID: 42300152
Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets
Monday, April 22, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 24 20 25 32 101LAL 28 31 20 20 99
DEN vs LAL ScoutingDEN vs LAL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Gordon missed 2 since 4/06, returns tonight: 28 min (87% of 32)
OUT Jordan missed 2 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 24 min since (73% of 33)
NEW Braun 20 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Watson 18 to 23 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 3 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 25 min since (77% of 33)
BACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 28 min since (87% of 32)
NEW Braun 20 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 4 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 26 min since (80% of 33)
BACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 28 min since (88% of 32)
NEW Braun 20 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/20 · 5 days' restOUT Jordan missed 5 since 4/06, returns tonight: 9 min (80% of 11)
BACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 26 min since (79% of 33)
BACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 28 min since (86% of 32)
NEW Braun 20 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/22 · 1 day's restBACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 29 min since (89% of 32)
BACK Jordan back 4/20 after 5, 9 min since (80% of 11)
DEN availability going into 4/25 · 2 days' restOUT Strawther missed 2 since 4/20, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 31 min since (96% of 32)
BACK Jordan back 4/20 after 5, 9 min since (80% of 11)
DEN availability going into 4/27 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 2 since 4/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 3 since 4/20, out tonight
DEN availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 3 since 4/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 4 since 4/20, out tonight
DEN availability going into 5/04 · 4 days' restOUT Jordan missed 4 since 4/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 5 since 4/20, out tonight
NEW Murray 33 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Gordon 32 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 32 to 39 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 29 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 23 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 4/07 after 3, 14 min since (67% of 20)
BACK Vincent back 3/31 after 46, 14 min since (79% of 18)
NEW Hayes 12 to 18 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 4/12 · 2 days' restOUT Vanderbilt missed 30 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 24 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 4/07 after 3, 12 min since (57% of 20)
NEW Hayes 12 to 20 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 31 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 25 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 4/07 after 3, 12 min since (57% of 20)
NEW Hayes 12 to 18 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/20 · 5 days' restOUT Reddish missed 2 since 4/12, not on tonight's roster
OUT Vanderbilt missed 32 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 26 since 2/22, out tonight
NEW Hayes 12 to 18 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/22 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 33 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 27 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 4/07 after 3, 12 min since (57% of 20)
NEW Russell 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Hachimura 27 to 32 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/25 · 2 days' restOUT Vanderbilt missed 34 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 28 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Christie missed 2 since 4/20, out tonight
NEW Russell 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Hachimura 27 to 33 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/27 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 35 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 29 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Christie missed 3 since 4/20, out tonight
LAL availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 36 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 30 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Christie missed 4 since 4/20, out tonight
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 15 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Murray at 25 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 121, shooting 50 percent and 34 from three, 25 free throws a game; James at 31 and Davis at 26 a game. Without Vanderbilt (33 straight), Wood (27 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 107 a night to the Lakers' 121 and the line, where the Lakers take 25 free throws a game to Denver's 15. Call it Denver 119, the Lakers 112.
4/10 vs MIN 116-107 — DEN notes
DEN won 116-107. DEN shot 55% (46 of 83) to MIN's 50%, 11 of 25 from three. Jokić led with 41 (16 of 20, 7 of 12 at the line); Murray added 20, Porter Jr. 18. The hinge was Q3, 34-28: DEN came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 3, and the lead reached 16. DEN trailed 49-52 at the half and won the second half 67-55. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
4/12 @ SAS 120-121 — DEN notes
DEN lost 120-121. DEN took 12 more shots (97 to 85), but shot 51% to SAS's 53%, 13 of 36 from three, and got to the line just 10 times against 19 fouls committed. DEN turned it over 7 times to SAS's 18. The glass went 33-49 against them. Murray led with 35 (14 of 26, 5 of 11 from three); Jokić added 22, Porter Jr. 14. Q2 was theirs, 37-18, turning a 1-point deficit into a 18-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 103-83 against them. They led by as many as 23.
4/14 @ MEM 126-111 — DEN notes
DEN won 126-111. DEN shot 52% (46 of 89) to MEM's 45%, 12 of 36 from three, and went to the line 26 times to MEM's 18 — 22 points from the stripe to their 13. The glass went 54-43 for them. Murray led with 21 (7 of 14, 3 of 7 from three); Braun added 19, Jokić 15. The hinge was Q2, 37-28: a lead of 3 became 12, and the lead reached 26. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
4/20 vs LAL 114-103 — DEN notes
DEN won 114-103. DEN shot 46% (47 of 102) to LAL's 49%, 15 of 42 from three, and got to the line 6 times to LAL's 19. DEN turned it over 4 times to LAL's 12. Jokić led with 32 (15 of 23, 1 of 3 from three); Murray added 22, Porter Jr. 19. The hinge was Q3, 32-18: DEN came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 11, and the lead reached 15. DEN trailed 57-60 at the half and won the second half 57-43. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
4/22 vs LAL 101-99 — DEN notes
DEN won 101-99. DEN shot 44% (39 of 88) to LAL's 49%, 8 of 34 from three. DEN turned it over 9 times to LAL's 14. Jokić led with 27 (9 of 16, 2 of 4 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Porter Jr. added 22, Murray 20. The hinge was Q4, 32-20: DEN came in trailing by 10 and left it ahead by 2. DEN trailed 44-59 at the half and won the second half 57-40. Watson was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
4/25 @ LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Davis at 32 and James at 30 a game. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Vanderbilt (34 straight), Wood (28 straight). 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-4 a night and the Lakers minus-4 and the defense, Denver allowing 108 a night to the Lakers' 115. Call it the Lakers 115, Denver 114, Denver keeping it close.
4/27 @ LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 51 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Davis at 33 and James at 29 a game. That is 3 straight losses. They have lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Vanderbilt (35 straight), Wood (29 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 30 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and the Lakers minus-6 and the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 13 times a game to Denver's 10. Call it the Lakers 114, Denver 113, Denver keeping it close.
4/29 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 107, shooting 47 percent and 29 from three, 19 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 32 from three, 17 free throws a game; Davis at 30 and James at 27 a game. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Vanderbilt (36 straight), Wood (30 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-7 a night and the Lakers minus-5. Call it Denver 114, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
5/04 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 106, shooting 46 percent and 31 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Murray at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 4 days' rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 29 free throws a game; Edwards at 27 and Towns at 17 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 12 a night. 5 days' rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the line, where Minnesota takes 29 free throws a game to Denver's 16 and the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-12 a night and Denver plus-5. Call it Denver 111, Minnesota 109, Minnesota keeping it close.
4/09 vs GSW 120-134 — LAL notes
LAL lost 120-134. LAL took 16 more shots (96 to 80), fed by 10 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to GSW's 59%, 12 of 35 from three. LAL turned it over 7 times to GSW's 15. James led with 33 (14 of 22, 1 of 3 from three); Reaves added 22, Hachimura 20. Q4 was theirs, 31-28, the deficit cut from 17 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 106-89 against them. Prince's -18 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 @ MEM 123-120 — LAL notes
LAL won 123-120. LAL shot 52% (42 of 81) to MEM's 45%, 13 of 37 from three, and went to the line 34 times to MEM's 21 — 26 points from the stripe to their 17. LAL turned it over 19 times to MEM's 13, and MEM turned those into 14 steals. James led with 37 (13 of 20, 3 of 7 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); Davis added 36, Hachimura 14. The hinge was Q1, 34-26: from level to 8 ahead. Vincent was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
4/14 @ NOP 124-108 — LAL notes
LAL won 124-108. LAL shot 55% (48 of 87) to NOP's 48%, 11 of 29 from three. LAL turned it over 14 times to NOP's 19. Davis led with 30 (13 of 17); James added 28, Reaves 20. The hinge was Q2, 40-29: a lead of 6 became 17, and the lead reached 32. Russell was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
4/20 @ DEN 103-114 — LAL notes
LAL lost 103-114. LAL shot 49% (39 of 79) to DEN's 46%, 8 of 29 from three, and went to the line 19 times to DEN's 6 — 17 points from the stripe to their 5. LAL turned it over 12 times to DEN's 4. Davis led with 32 (12 of 23, 0 of 4 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); James added 27, Russell 13. Q1 was theirs, 33-25, but the other 3 periods went 89-70 against them. They led by as many as 12. Davis's -12 in 44 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/22 @ DEN 99-101 — LAL notes
LAL lost 99-101. LAL shot 49% (38 of 78) to DEN's 44%, 13 of 30 from three. LAL turned it over 14 times to DEN's 9. Davis led with 32 (14 of 19); James added 26, Russell 23. Q2 was theirs, 31-20, but the other 3 periods went 81-68 against them. They led by as many as 20. Dinwiddie's -9 in 10 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/25 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Davis at 32 and James at 30 a game. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Vanderbilt (34 straight), Wood (28 straight). 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-4 a night and the Lakers minus-4 and the defense, Denver allowing 108 a night to the Lakers' 115. Call it the Lakers 115, Denver 114, Denver keeping it close.
4/27 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 51 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Davis at 33 and James at 29 a game. That is 3 straight losses. They have lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Vanderbilt (35 straight), Wood (29 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 30 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and the Lakers minus-6 and the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 13 times a game to Denver's 10. Call it the Lakers 114, Denver 113, Denver keeping it close.
4/29 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 107, shooting 47 percent and 29 from three, 19 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 32 from three, 17 free throws a game; Davis at 30 and James at 27 a game. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Vanderbilt (36 straight), Wood (30 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-7 a night and the Lakers minus-5. Call it Denver 114, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
JH J. Holiday
JM J. Murray
JO Jokic
KC K. Caldwell-Pope
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
LALAD A. Davis
AR A. Reaves
DR D. Russell
GV G. Vincent
JH J. Hayes
LJ L. James
RH R. Hachimura
SD S. Dinwiddie
TP T. Prince
DEN/LAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Jamal Murray sinks shot at buzzer to cap 20-point comeback and lead Nuggets past Lakers 101-99
DENVER -- — Jamal Murray didn't even see the biggest basket of his career. At least not live, he didn't.
Murray swished a step-back 15-footer over Anthony Davis at the buzzer Monday night, giving the Denver Nuggets a stunning 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers and capping a comeback from a 20-point second-half deficit.
Murray tumbled into the Nuggets' bench along with Davis just as his shot fluttered in the net and the roar from the crowd shook Ball Arena.
“I just lost my balance and fell. I think A.D. was in my way or somebody was in my way and I just heard everybody scream and that's how I knew it went in," said Murray, who was mobbed by his teammates after his bucket gave the reigning NBA champions their 10th consecutive win over the Lakers.
More importantly, it gave Denver a 2-0 lead in a Western Conference first-round series that shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night.
Murray missed 13 of his first 16 shots and was easily the most flustered, frazzled and frustrated of all his teammates when it appeared the Nuggets would lose to the Lakers for the first time in 494 days.
“I told my teammates when I was struggling, ‘I’m gonna look for y'all,' and every single one of them told me to keep shooting,” recounted Murray, who did just that, going 6 for 8 for 14 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 20 points.
“They told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it, keep hunting and when I had the ball with 2 seconds left, I knew once I had made a couple, the next one should go down, as well.”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone chose not to call a timeout after Michael Porter Jr . grabbed the rebound off LeBron James ' missed 3-pointer with 13 seconds left and the game knotted up at 99.
“We got the stop. Tie game. Why let them get set?” Malone reasoned. “Because, when they can get set and they switch out everything, you might not even get the ball inbounds. So, I wanted to make sure we could just flow into it and let our best players make plays.”
Murray faked like he was going to take a 3-pointer, got A.D. to close and then beat him to his spot along the right baseline for the clear look.
“That's Jamal Murray right there," Malone said. “He can struggle, he can struggle, he can struggle. He sees one go in and he's never shying away from the moment, the spotlight. And that was just an incredible play.”
Nikola Jokic said Murray “made the tough shots today and he missed the easy ones. It was that kind of game.”
Asked to go though that final sequence, Davis demurred, saying simply, “Jamal Murray made a shot,” then standing up, dropping the mic — not figuratively — and walking off from the postgame podium.
Jokic posted a triple-double with 27 points, 20 boards and 10 assists. Porter added 22 points and Aaron Gordon 14 for Denver.
Davis led the Lakers with 32 points, James had 26 points plus a major beef with the officiating and D’Angelo Russell added 23 with a career playoff-high seven 3s, including six in the first half to help the Lakers build a 59-44 lead at the break.
The Lakers stretched their advantage to 68-48 two minutes into the second half and they still led by 10 entering the fourth quarter.
“I don't have a 20-point play,” Malone said. “You've got to just keep chipping away.”
That they did, finally tying it at 95-all on Porter's 3-pointer with 1:15 left before the frenzied final minute.
“A 20-point lead in this league, it's not safe, especially against the defending champion,” James said. “We've got to do better. But we had our chances.”