Game ID: 42300155
Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets
Monday, April 29, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 28 22 31 27 108LAL 24 29 26 27 106
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 4/20 · 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
DEN availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 5 since 4/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 6 since 4/20, returns tonight: 4 min (33% of 11)
NEW Jokić 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Murray 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Gordon 32 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 32 to 40 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/10 · 3 days' restOUT Jordan missed 6 since 4/22, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 5/06 after 6, 4 min since (33% of 11)
NEW Murray 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Gordon 32 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 32 to 40 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/12 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 7 since 4/22, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 5/06 after 6, 4 min since (34% of 11)
NEW Gordon 32 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 32 to 39 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 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.
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 112-105 — DEN notes
DEN won 112-105. DEN shot 49% (44 of 90) to LAL's 49%, 5 of 28 from three. DEN turned it over 13 times to LAL's 7, and LAL turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 51-38 for them. Gordon led with 29 (12 of 18, 5 of 6 at the line); Jokić added 24, Murray 22. The hinge was Q3, 34-22: DEN came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 15. DEN trailed 49-53 at the half and won the second half 63-52. Watson was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
4/27 @ LAL 108-119 — DEN notes
DEN lost 108-119. DEN shot 45% (39 of 87) to LAL's 52%, 9 of 30 from three, and went to the line 25 times to LAL's 18 — 21 points from the stripe to their 15. Jokić led with 33 (10 of 20, 2 of 5 from three, 11 of 11 at the line); Porter Jr. added 27, Murray 22. Q3 was theirs, 32-30, the deficit cut from 13 to 11, but the other 3 periods went 89-76 against them. Braun's -13 in 12 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/29 vs LAL 108-106 — DEN notes
DEN won 108-106. DEN shot 47% (42 of 89) to LAL's 46%, 16 of 38 from three, and got to the line 9 times to LAL's 27. DEN turned it over 13 times to LAL's 8. Murray led with 32 (13 of 28, 5 of 10 from three); Porter Jr. added 26, Jokić 25. The hinge was Q3, 31-26: DEN came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 2. DEN trailed 50-53 at the half and won the second half 58-53. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
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.
5/06 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 32 from three, 19 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Porter Jr. at 23 a game. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 102, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Edwards at 33 and Towns at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 13 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-13 a night and Denver plus-2 and the arc, Minnesota at 37 percent from three to Denver's 32. Call it Minnesota 110, Denver 108, Denver keeping it close.
5/10 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 99, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Edwards at 32 and Towns at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. 3 days' rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 108, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Porter Jr. at 20 a game. 3 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 99 a night to Denver's 108 and the arc, Minnesota at 38 percent from three to Denver's 33. Call it Minnesota 112, Denver 104.
5/12 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 104, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Edwards at 33 and Towns at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Minnesota 111, Denver 105.
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 105-112 — LAL notes
LAL lost 105-112. LAL shot 49% (44 of 90) to DEN's 49%, 5 of 27 from three. LAL turned it over 7 times to DEN's 13. The glass went 38-51 against them. Davis led with 33 (14 of 23, 5 of 7 at the line); James added 26, Reaves 22. Q1 was theirs, 33-23, but the other 3 periods went 89-72 against them. They led by as many as 12. Hachimura's -12 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/27 vs DEN 119-108 — LAL notes
LAL won 119-108. LAL shot 52% (48 of 92) to DEN's 45%, 8 of 26 from three, and got to the line 18 times to DEN's 25. James led with 30 (14 of 23); Davis added 25, Russell 21. The hinge was Q2, 33-25: a lead of 5 became 13, and the lead reached 19. Russell was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
4/29 @ DEN 106-108 — LAL notes
LAL lost 106-108. LAL shot 46% (39 of 84) to DEN's 47%, 10 of 35 from three, and went to the line 27 times to DEN's 9 — 18 points from the stripe to their 8. LAL turned it over 8 times to DEN's 13. James led with 30 (11 of 21, 3 of 7 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Reaves added 19, Davis 17. Q2 was theirs, 29-22, turning a 4-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 86-77 against them. Hachimura's -8 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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
Murray scores 32 and hits game-winner in Nuggets' 108-106 series-clinching victory over Lakers
DENVER -- — Jamal Murray overcame a strained left calf, management's suggestion he sit this one out and another haymaker from the Los Angeles Lakers to score 32 points and sink the game-winner with 3.6 seconds left Monday night.
That sent LeBron James to his earliest playoff exit ever and the Denver Nuggets tottering into Round 2 with a 108-106 win in Game 5 that featured 16 lead changes and 10 ties and was only secured when Taurean Prince 's halfcourt heave fell short as time expired.
“Shout-out to the Lakers, they gave us a great series,” said Murray, who also hit the franchise's first playoff buzzer-beater in Game 2.
“Those are shots that you dream of as a little kid,” said Murray, who called this one just “a little better.”
If not for his dogged determination — and defiance — Murray never would have had the chance to seal the series.
“I came in a little earlier today to see if I was going to be able to go, and I felt like I could and they just didn't want me to risk it,” recounted Murray, who warmed up with an ice pack strapped to his injured calf. "They told me no. They told me no.
"And I didn't say no. I didn't want to leave my teammates out there,” added Murray, who missed 23 games due to injury in 2023-24. “We've been battling all season. Everybody's hurt at some point, everybody's going through something and I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't able to play this game.
”I'm just glad they listened to me — and listened to me listening to my body — and just trusting me with it."
James' two free throws tied it at 106 with 26 seconds left and the Nuggets, just as they did in Game 2, eschewed the timeout and Murray took the ball on a high screen-and-roll to his left, shaking Austin Reaves as he crossed through the lane and swished the 14-footer.
“That kid’s a warrior, man," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "The bigger the moment, the kid just continues to shine.”
Nikola Jokic , who committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, narrowly missed his 19th career playoff triple-double with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr . scored 26.
James had 30 points and 11 assists and Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds but appeared bothered down the stretch after banging his left shoulder into Porter in the second half.
The Nuggets advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round starting next weekend. That series starts in Denver, where the Nuggets are a Western Conference-best 36-8, including 3-0 in the playoffs.
Not that it has been easy.
The Nuggets trailed for about three-fourths of the minutes in this series, they scuffled through extended shooting slumps and they're a banged-up bunch that can definitely use the rest.
“First of all, tip your hat to them,” James said. “Defending champions. They’re great team. Super-well coached and made the plays down the stretch to win the series. You give credit where credit is due, that’s for sure.”
Davis matched Murray’s 16 first-half points and the Lakers led 53-50 at halftime. They pushed that advantage to nine points but the Nuggets closed on a 21-10 run to take an 81-79 lead into the fourth quarter that was tight until the buzzer.
The Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last summer on their way to winning the franchise's first NBA championship, beat the Lakers for the 12th time in their last 13 games.
The only other time James was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs came in 2021 when the Phoenix Suns beat L.A. in six games.
So, this was the shortest of James' 17 trips to the playoffs despite the Lakers taking the reigning champs to the brink in all five games.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our crew despite everything that happened,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham, who's sure to be on the hot seat. “Obviously, the series didn’t go in our favor, didn’t start the way we wanted it to, but to win that one at home, fight tooth and nail today to get this one, our guys showed a lot of guts and a lot of character."