Jamal Murray's fourth-quarter explosion helps Nuggets steal Game 2
Jamal Murray was 5-of-17 through three quarters in Game 2. In the fourth quarter, though, he couldn't miss.
Murray shot 6-7 in the final quarter of regulation, nailing four three-pointers and making seven of his eight free throws. The entire Lakers team scored 24 points that quarter – and you know Murray is ruing the one missed free throw that would have left them even.
There are only three players in the last thirty years who have scored 20+ points in the 4th quarter of a playoff game more than once. Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan each did it twice. Jamal Murray has now done it four times.
The Nuggets began the 4th quarter on 20-5 run, where Murray outscored the Lakers 11-5 by himself. Los Angeles got three-point-happy in the final quarter, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined to shoot 1-6 from distance.
James was 0-6 from deep, while the Lakers went 3-9 overall. One of the makes came from a wild shot off the backboard from Austin Reaves - we don't have audio to know if he called "Bank!"
"We all know one thing about Jamal," Coach Michael Malone told reporters after the game. "He just has to see one go in. That's all he needs. And after that, he's shooting into a hula hoop."
Malone also called him "one of our defensive players of the game" after Murray grabbed ten rebounds and got four steals.
Meanwhile, it was a forgettable quarter for James, who missed all of his three-pointers, missed his third point-blank shot of the game after getting a steal with less than 30 seconds left and turned the ball over to end the contest.
With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in foul trouble early, Brown played 37 minutes and scored 12 points while collecting a steal and a block. He even had a personal 5-0 run to bring the Nuggets to within two points in the third quarter. Brown finished the game +16.
We would be remiss not to mention Nikola Jokic, who had a "quiet" triple-double with 23 points, 12 assists and 17 rebounds. He outworked Davis, who posted 18 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in a losing effort. Davis also briefly injured James when his teammate landed on his foot, but James seemed very spry intercepting a pass a minute later. And less spry on the subsequent shot.
The series resumes Saturday in Los Angeles, where the Lakers hope Jack Nicholson will intimidate Jamal Murray into a less potent late-game performance.
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