Magic Johnson breaks silence on Jamal Murray game-winner, Lakers’ heartbreaking loss

Lakers eliminated by Nuggets from NBA Playoffs for second straight year

For the second consecutive season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the Denver Nuggets. Last season, despite LeBron James’ best efforts, the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. This season, Denver overcame uneven performances from some of its best players to stage multiple come-from-behind wins.

While it’s clear the Nuggets are the superior team — Denver has won 12 of its last 13 games against Los Angeles — the Lakers found themselves in position to win each of the series’ five games. In Game 1, a dominant third quarter by the Nuggets proved to be the difference as Denver took an early series lead with a 114-103 home win. The aforementioned Game 2 and Jamal Murray’s heroics in it gave the Nuggets a 2-0 series lead despite trailing the Lakers by 10 heading into the fourth quarter.

The third quarter served as the stage for the Nuggets’ comeback again in Game 3; after trailing again at halftime, Denver outscored L.A. by 12 in the third and held on in the fourth to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. The Lakers were able to stave off a second straight sweep in Game 4, though, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Austin Reaves all scoring at least 20 points in a 119-108 win to ensure at least one more game.

Game 5 wasn’t pretty for either team, with the Nuggets struggling with turnovers and the Lakers failing to convert their chances at the free-throw line and beyond the arc. Denver’s second-half resilience shined through again, however, and despite a fifth straight halftime deficit, the Nuggets were lifted to a 108-106 victory by Murray’s game-winning shot with 3.6 seconds remaining.

The offseason begins now for the Lakers, who will have several big decisions to make this summer, including head coach Darvin Ham’s future. The contract status of the likes of James, Russell, and Taurean Prince will also be interesting to watch as the Lakers grapple with a rocky regular season that ended in Denver-induced disappointment again.