Davis’ buzzer beater lifts Lakers over Nuggets in West finals

Anthony Davis drained a three-pointer as time expired to seal Los Angeles Lakers’ 105-103 victory over Denver Nuggets for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Western Conference finals.

“People talk about (I’ve) never been in this moment before, pressure, am I ready for it,” Davis said. “I want to take those shots.”

Davis scored 31 points and pulled down nine rebounds, and LeBron James added 11 rebounds as the Lakers turned back the determined Nuggets – who had taken a 103-102 lead on Nikola Jokic’s driving basket with 20.8 seconds remaining.

Jokic scored 11 straight points for Nuggets down the stretch, finishing with 30 points, six rebounds and nine assists to lead Denver.

Jamal Murray added 25 points, and Nuggets battled in a furious fourth quarter but finally came up short.

Davis and Jokic traded baskets down the stretch, Jokic tipping in a miss from teammate Murray to put Nuggets up 101-100 with 31.8 seconds left, only for Davis to answer at the other end.

After Jokic scored to put the Nuggets ahead by one again, Lakers’ Alex Caruso missed a three-pointer, and Murray blocked a shot by Danny Green, giving Lakers a chance to inbound the ball.

Rajon Rondo found Davis, and the All-Star forward drained the game-winner over Jokic.

Lakers will try to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series today in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.

James powered Lakers early, scoring Los Angeles’ first 12 points.

But the rest of his team put together an 18-3 scoring run that included a galvanising dunk from Caruso.

Lakers pushed the lead to as many as 16 points in the second quarter, but Nuggets never surrendered.

Murray scored nine of his 25 points in a Nuggets surge that spanned the third and fourth quarters.

“We put the effort, we put the fight,” Jokic said. “Maybe we lost the game, but I think we played well.

“Most of the game we were down, but we came back again, so we’re going to keep our heads up and (go) on to the next one.”

For Davis, the game-winner was a career moment for a player who sought a trade from New Orleans Pelicans so he would have a chance to challenge for an NBA title.

“Special moment for a special player,” James said. “It’s not about making the shot, it’s about having the belief of just taking it, and living with the result. — AFP