The Nuggets are inevitable.
After trailing by as much as 20 points at home to the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver star Jamal Murray hit a step-back jumper over Anthony Davis as time expired to seal the 101-99 win.
Denver took a 2-0 first-round series lead while Los Angeles wasted a prime opportunity to steal a road game before going back to Southern California.
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Los Angeles started strong for the first three-and-a-half quarters, largely in part to some hot 3-point shooting. The Lakers ended the game with a 13-for-30 (43.3%) clip from deep compared to just 8-for-34 (23.5%) for the Nuggets.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 32 points on 14-for-19 shooting, 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block in 39 minutes, but his last bucket came at the 7:15 mark of the third quarter.
LeBron James started slow but came up big in the final period to finish with 26 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks on 9-for-19 shooting overall and 3-for-6 from deep. D'Angelo Russell added 23 points thanks to going 7-for-11 from deep following a cold outing in Game 1.
But the Nuggets saw five players eclipse double-digit point totals: Nikola Jokic (27), Michael Porter Jr. (22), Murray (20), Aaron Gordon (14) and Christian Braun (10).
Murray didn't have a good shooting night, either, going just 9-for-24 overall and missing all five 3-point attempts.
But the margins in the playoffs are extremely tight, and the Lakers once again have their backs against the wall against a team that's simply better coached with a stronger supporting cast alongside its two stars.
Monday's loss made it 10 straight against the Nuggets for the Lakers.
Game 3 in Los Angeles is slated for Thursday, April 25, where Los Angeles desperately needs a result to go its way to avoid another sweep versus Denver.
