Following a heartbreaking 101-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their first-round playoff matchup, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a precarious 0-2 deficit. Nikola Jokić’s buzzer-beating layup sealed the victory for Denver, leaving the Lakers with an uphill battle to avoid a sweep.
Despite the Lakers’ strong performance in the first half, leading by as many as 20 points, the Nuggets stormed back in the second half, outscoring Los Angeles 57-40 in the final 24 minutes. D’Angelo Russell, who bounced back from a poor shooting performance in Game 1, expressed frustration with the officiating after the game, questioning the effectiveness of the NBA’s replay system.
“I like where we’re at, like the chances we gave ourselves—questionable calls really dictated a lot… We all saw it,” Russell said, likely referring to several controversial calls that went against the Lakers in the first half. Russell was not the only Lakers player to criticize the officiating. LeBron James also questioned the use of replay, saying, “I don’t understand what’s going on in replay center, to be honest… it bothers me… and then I just saw what happened with the Sixers/Knicks game too. What are we doing?”
The Lakers’ “big 3” of Russell, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James all had solid performances in Game 2. However, the Nuggets’ defense tightened up in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers could not take advantage of Davis’ strong performance down the stretch. He made only one field goal attempt in the final 12 minutes.
In contrast to Davis, Jamal Murray had a slow start in the series for Denver. However, he never lost confidence and hit the game-winning shot, a moment that players dream of when they were young.
From the Lakers’ point of view, the Nuggets accomplished their job in the first two games of the series, protecting their home court. Los Angeles needs to have the same mindset when the series shifts to California for games three and four. As the famous saying goes, “A series does not start until the home team loses.” The Lakers must win at least one of these games to avoid the sweep and suffering the same fate as last season. Russell is confident his team can do it: “We can’t let this get away from us. We have to come out and protect our home court.”
