Jamal Murray has been back to his typical All-Star ways (even if he’s never actually made the team) for a while now, and there can be no greater evidence of that than yet another game-winning shot against the Lakers.
On Friday night, the Lakers played the Nuggets better than anyone could have expected with both LeBron James and Luka Dončić out, but in the waning seconds Murray broke a 126-all tie with a 3-pointer made possible by Nikola Jokić taking out two defenders with one screen.
Lakers fans don’t have to think back too far to recall the last two game-winners Murray hit on them, with both of them coming in last year’s playoffs. First, Murray closed Game 2 with a rainbow fall-away jumper over Anthony Davis. Then he ended the Lakers’ season in Game 5.
These are daggers in every sense. No, Friday’s shot wasn’t in a playoff game, but it could have big-time implications on the playoff race as the Nuggets and Lakers both continue to jockey for seeding.
Denver holds onto the No. 2 seed with the win, one game up in the loss column on No. 3 Houston, No. 4 Memphis and the Lakers at No. 5. Had the Lakers won this game, they would’ve moved into the 2-seed. Below Oklahoma City, that’s how tight things are in the Western Conference. Almost every game swings something.
Instead, the Lakers have lost four straight, three without LeBron, and are now just three games up on the No. 6 Warriors, who are smoking hot and have one of the easiest schedules down the stretch. Yes, that three-game lead should be pretty safe considering the Lakers have clinched the tiebreaker over Golden State, making the lead an effective four games with 17 to play, but nothing can be certain until LeBron makes his way back onto the court.
Until then, the Lakers are just trying to tread water to at least keep themselves in the hunt for a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the first round. They still have one more game against the Nuggets next Wednesday, which could literally decide whether or not they match up in the first round depending on how this all finishes up.
It’s unlikely that LeBron will be back by then, meaning the Lakers will have another uphill fight on their hands. If they are able to keep it close again — perhaps due to another brilliant performance from Austin Reaves, who finished Friday’s loss with 37 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and four steals — all they can hope for is to keep the ball the hell out of Murray’s hands in the final seconds. They’ve officially seen that movie too many times.
