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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Defending champion Denver Nuggets advance in playoffs as Jamal Murray | |
game-winner downs Los Angeles Lakers | |
By Homero De la Fuente and Matias Grez, CNN | |
Updated: | |
5:52 AM EDT, Tue April 30, 2024 | |
Source: CNN | |
Jamal Murray knocked down the go-ahead jumper with 3.6 seconds left in | |
Game 5 to lift the Denver Nuggets to a series-clinching 108-106 victory | |
over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. | |
Murray’s game winner was his second of the series after drilling a , | |
which completed a 20-point comeback for the defending champions at Ball | |
Arena for a 2-0 series lead. | |
After coming into the game with a calf injury, the Nuggets guard | |
finished Monday’s match-up with a game-high 32 points to go along | |
with seven assists to wrap up the series, 4-1. | |
“This one was a little better,” Murray said of his game winner. | |
“I’m speechless … it’s a dream come true. All these fans on | |
your side and to get it done in this fashion, I don’t know what to | |
say, I’m just happy for us.” | |
The loss for the Lakers is the franchise’s 12th in its last 13 | |
meetings against Denver, including being swept in the Western | |
Conference Finals last season as the Nuggets marched to their first� | |
NBA championship. | |
Despite holding a lead for about 75% the series, James and the Lakers | |
could not find a solution against the Nuggets. | |
The Lakers, as they’ve done every game in the series, held a lead at | |
halftime and led by as much as nine points in the third quarter before | |
the Nuggets closed it out with a 21-10 run for a two-point advantage | |
heading into the fourth. | |
Both teams exchanged leads down the stretch, before Murray knocked down | |
the winner. Lakers forward Taurean Prince launched a prayer from | |
halfcourt at the buzzer that fell way short of the basket. | |
Two-time MVP Nikola Jokić finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and | |
nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points, including | |
5-of-7 from deep. | |
With the series win, the Nuggets advance to the second round where they | |
will play against Anthony Edwards and the . Game 1 is on Saturday in | |
Denver, where the Nuggets are 36-8 this season, including 3-0 in the | |
playoffs. | |
Meanwhile, the loss concludes the 21st season for James, who finished | |
with a near triple-double with 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds | |
– as well as four steals – in Game 5. | |
For the first time since the 2004-05 season, the second round of the | |
NBA playoffs will not feature any of James or NBA playoff mainstays | |
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. | |
Thunder sweep the Pelicans, Celtics hammer Heat | |
Elsewhere in the playoffs, the youthful Oklahoma City Thunder beat the | |
New Orleans Pelicans 97-89 to complete a 4-0 series sweep and advance | |
to the second round. | |
OKC star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a joint game-high 24 | |
points to go with 10 rebounds and two blocks as the Thunder became the | |
youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series. | |
Jalen Williams, another of OKC’s rising talents, also scored 24 | |
points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. | |
It was a rough night for the Pelicans, still without the injured Zion | |
Williamson, which encapsulated their struggles all series. | |
CJ McCollum scored a team-high 20 points, but Brandon Ingram scored | |
just eight points on 2-of-14 shooting. | |
The Boston Celtics opened up a 3-1 series lead over the Miami Heat with | |
a comfortable 102-88 victory on Monday. | |
The Celtics were led by an inspired Derrick White, who scored 38 points | |
– including eight three-pointers – during the dominant win. | |
However, there was some bad news for the Celtics who lost starting | |
center Kristaps Porziņģis to an apparent calf injury. | |
The Heat, who are still without star Jimmy Butler, will now have to | |
pull off an improbable escape to repeat last year’s heroics of | |
reaching the NBA Finals as a play-in team. | |
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