I need to catch my breath on this one. Welcome in to the recap of Game 2. The Lakers escaped with a 103-105 win to take a 2-0 series lead. As it went down to the wire, LA lead by as many as 8. Then, a mini Jokic run sparked the Nuggets and the took the lead in the final seconds. No timeouts. Alex Caruso could've gone from hero to scapegoat. But Anthony Davis saves the day with a cold-blooded three with 2.1 seconds left to lift the Lakers to victory!
Incredible finish! Let's get the negatives out of the way. The turnovers were magnified in this game: 23 total turnovers from the Lakers. Credit to the Nuggets defense. They were much more active this game. Mike Malone changed up the defensive disguises, even inserting PJ Dozier to draw those offensive fouls and give the Nuggets a chance. The Lakers also found themselves in the penalty with the fouls in the 2nd half, which allowed Denver to hang around.
Last game, Dwight got the best of Jokic. Tonight, Jokic answered back as Dwight got into foul trouble 5 times. He was more aggressive tonight. The Laker defense made the "cardinal sin" to double him and he lived up to the Joker moniker. He was unstoppable down the stretch and outworked Dwight and AD in the middle. Michael Porter Jr. and Monte Morris sparked the Nuggets' 2nd. Denver had all kinds of chances to get this game, but missed timely 3's and missed free throws from Dozier came back to bite them in the end.
Though LeBron James accounted for the first 12 points for the Lakers, he struggled down the stretch. He tried going for the "knockout" shots, but he was missing badly and didn't attack the basket enough to get it going again. Nonetheless, LeBron finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds and still had an efficient 10-20 shooting.
The defense also laid back in that 2nd half. In the 1st half, they were flying around, swarming the Nuggets with active hands and shot blocking. 2nd half was a completely different story as they were late on rotation and committed some silly fouls.
Now onto the better part of the game. Alex Caruso was a human highlight reel tonight: breakaway dunk, layup with his vision blocked. His spark made up for the stagnant 2nd unit tonight. Chris Webber and Reggie Miller were throwing jokes, comparing him to Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and George Gervin. He missed that 3 at the end and if that was the final play of the game, he would've lost his GOAT status for sure. Nonetheless, Caruso played well with 9 points, 2 steals, and a block.
For the 2nd game in a row, Anthony Davis was the MVP for the Lakers. He's going to get docked for a pedestrian first half, But in the 2nd, he was more aggressive. When the Lakers needed a bucket as Denver made their runs, AD responded time and time again tonight. But without question, he responded big time with the game-winning 3-pointer over Jokic. Let's rewind back prior to the league suspension: Lakers were playing the Nets. AD had a wide open look from three to win the game and missed. Tonight, it was very similar. Same spot from the 3-point line, different outcome. He actually got free with a screen on Mason Plumlee. Rondo inbounded the ball. Jokic was late to help. And the 'Brow sunk the Nuggets to put them out 0-2 in this series. AD finished with 31 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.
There is something about those Black Mamba jerseys whenever the Lakers wear them. They pummeled the Blazers and Rockets to death. Tonight, it was a stone-cold dagger to the heart of the Denver Nuggets. This was a dissppointing loss for the Nuggets because they had the Lakers in their grasp. In the 2nd half, Lakers were very uncharacteristic, but they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. How this loss affects Denver's psyche is in question. But, I still wouldn't count them out. This is a team that came back from two consecutive 3-1 deficits. With the adjustments they made in Game 2, they will definitely polish those in Game 3. The Lakers need to continue to stay the course and not give this team any signs of life. There was a lot of things to clean up after this game, but at the end of the day, a win is a win. I'll see you guys later.
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