Murray stuns Lakers with buzzer-beater
DENVER — Jamal Murray didn’t even see the biggest basket of his career. At least not live, he didn’t.
Murray swished a step-back 15-footer over Anthony Davis at the buzzer Monday night, giving the Denver Nuggets a stunning 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers and capping a comeback from a 20-point second-half deficit.
Murray tumbled into the Nuggets’ bench along with Davis just as his shot fluttered in the net and the roar from the crowd shook Ball Arena.
“I just lost my balance and fell. I think A.D. was in my way or somebody was in my way and I just heard everybody scream and that’s how I knew it went in,” said Murray, who was mobbed by his teammates after his bucket gave the reigning NBA champions their 10th consecutive win over the Lakers.
More importantly, it gave Denver a 2-0 lead in a Western Conference first-round series that shifts to Los Angeles on Thursday night.
Murray missed 13 of his first 16 shots and was easily the most flustered, frazzled and frustrated of all his teammates when it appeared the Nuggets would lose to the Lakers for the first time in 494 days.
“I told my teammates when I was struggling, ‘I’m gonna look for y’all,’ and every single one of them told me to keep shooting,” recounted Murray, who did just that, going 6 for 8 for 14 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 20 points.
“They told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it, keep hunting and when I had the ball with 2 seconds left, I knew once I had made a couple, the next one should go down, as well.”
The game’s finishing drama extended into the stands Monday, as the league and Denver police are looking into an incident in which a man reported to be one of the brothers of Nuggets star and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic was seen punching a fan after Murray’s buzzer-beater.
In videos shared by TMZ and other outlets, the man is seen climbing over seats to confront another person at Ball Arena, who he then punches in the face.
An NBA spokesman said Tuesday that the league is looking into the matter.
KNICKS 104, 76ERS 101
An eight-point lead was gone. The Knicks’ edge in the series and home-court advantage seemed about to follow. Madison Square Garden had fallen nearly silent.
“I mean, it wasn’t a good feeling,” Donte DiVincenzo said. Moments later, it was bedlam. DiVincenzo made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining after a desperate scramble, and New York beat Philadelphia to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Knicks trailed by five points within the final 30 seconds before one of the most stunning rallies in playoff history, starting when Jalen Brunson finally got a shot to fall during an otherwise miserable shooting night.
Brunson’s 3-pointer from the corner bounced on the rim and fell in, cutting it to 101-99 with 27 seconds remaining. Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey to get the ball back for the Knicks, but DiVincenzo missed a 3-pointer. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the rebound and passed it to OG Anunoby, who got it back to DiVincenzo, who hit that one to make it 102-101.
“It was crazy, it was hectic, but at that point we had nothing to lose,” Hart said. “Got to get as physical as we can and it panned out.”
Hartenstein then blocked Maxey's drive, Anunoby made two free throws, and the Knicks held on when Joel Embiid missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Brunson finished with 24 points despite going 8 for 29 from the field. Hart had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and DiVincenzo scored 19 points.
CAVALIERS 96, MAGIC 86
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, Texas ex Jarrett Allen had 20 rebounds and host Cleveland outlasted Orlando for a 2-0 series lead.
Mitchell set the tone as the Cavs led from start to finish, just as they did in Game 1.
It’s been an impressive opening to the playoffs for Cleveland, which spent the regular season waiting for a chance to redeem itself following last year’s firstround exit against the Knicks, who punished the Cavs in five games.
Cleveland has been much tougher this time around.
Evan Mobley added 17 points and Allen scored 16 — with nine offensive rebounds — for the Cavs.
Paolo Banchero scored 21 points for the Magic, who have only come back to win one playoff series in 13 tries when losing the series opener.