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Despite a spirited comeback effort from the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to win Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday thanks to a three-point shot from Anthony Davis.
Unlike the last game, the Lakers didn’t seem to be in full control in the first half despite their 10-point lead at the half. However, they were still able to outrun the Nuggets due to an aggressive and efficient first half from LeBron James.
In the first half, James scored 20 points on 72% shooting from the field, including 75% shooting from behind the arc. The Lakers haven’t needed James to take over an offensive game for them so far in the postseason, but they needed every one of those points Sunday night because of how contested the game got in the second half.
Lakers fans expected the team to drop its third-quarter woes in the regular season, but those struggles flared again in Game 3. There was no flow rate to offense to start the third frame, and the Nuggets made the most of every one of the Lakers’ shots that rang out at the rim. The Nuggets edged the Lakers 28-22 in the third quarter.
The bleeding didn’t stop in the fourth quarter either, but the Lakers were more like themselves and some players threw some big shots, including but not limited to Danny Green and Anthony Davis. Davis’ 3-pointer gave the Lakers an 8-point lead with less than three minutes left on the game clock.
And yet that wasn’t the biggest shot Davis ever made on Sunday.
The Nuggets did not leave in the fourth quarter and took the lead at two separate times with less than a minute left on the game clock, with Nikola Jokic especially great with multiple big shots. The Lakers had a chance to take the lead on final possession, but their first attempt fell short, with Alex Caruso missing a three and then Danny Green getting his shot blocked out of bounds.
Then, with two seconds to go and the game up for grabs, Davis hit possibly the biggest shot of his career.
And that was the game.
The Lakers are now up 2-0 and will try to improve their series lead to three games in Game 3 on Tuesday. The announcement will be at 6 pm on TNT.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.
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