Nuggets end Lakers season for second straight year
The Los Angeles Lakers season officially came to an end on Monday in a familiar fashion, ending with another game-winning shot in the final seconds from Denver Nuggets' Jamal Murray to end L.A.’s playoff hopes.
“Tip your hat to them [Nuggets]. Defending champions. Super great team, super well coached. They made the plays down the stretch to win the series,” LeBron James said, according to Spectrum SportsNet.
The Nuggets ended the Lakers season for the second year in a row, putting L.A. away in the Western Conference Finals of last season’s playoffs and now in the first round of the 2024 playoffs in five games in a best-of-seven series.
The Lakers’ Game 5 loss ended similarly to their previous three losses in the series. An aggressive start, strong first-half momentum, a halftime lead, and then faltering in the end was the deja vu outcome. Denver's guard Murray buried a jumper over guard Austin Reaves to seal the Nuggets' win with 3.6 seconds left, closing out the series four games to one (4-1) with a final score of 108-106.
Murray finished with a game-high 32 points and seven assists while making five of his 10 attempts from three.
Los Angeles's inconsistent shooting from three and at the free-throw line was costly in a two-point loss. They shot 28% (10-for-35) from behind the arc and 66% from the free-throw line, making 18 of their 27 attempts.
Denver shot 42% (16-for-38) from deep and 89% (8-for-9) from the foul strike.
In the loss, the Lakers had Anthony Davis (17 points, 15 rebounds) suffer a left shoulder injury to start the second half with the Lakers up by six, which changed the momentum and ultimately the outcome. The injury kept him in and out of the third quarter, but he wasn't the same as the game continued, favoring the shoulder while playing handicapped until the end.
“I was very limited with the shoulder but still tried to go out there and be on the floor for my team,” Davis said.
Even James had brief moments of an injury in the third quarter, tweaking his left foot on a layup attempt. He would re-lace his left shoe and continue on with Davis sidelined, as he was L.A.’s lonesome hope to find a win.
In the final minutes, James hit game-tying free throws, a big three, and tough layups in the paint to rally the Lakers back into the game. Despite an all-out effort from the four-time NBA champ, the Lakers, in the end, saw the same demise. James finished with 30 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds in 44 minutes.
With the season ending on a disappointing note and his high-level playing window closing at age 39, the Lakers' offseason is full of big decisions and major changes, starting with James’ player option to rejoin or leave Los Angeles for more success elsewhere.
James was asked if there was any thought if Game 5’s loss was his last game in a Lakers uniform. His response: "I'm not gonna answer that. I appreciate it," James said with a half-smile poker face.
Davis was adamant about wanting James back in Los Angeles in hopes of a championship run next season but ultimately understood that he would make the best decision for him and his family.
"We compliment each other, we've done something special together. Good thing about it is I'm gonna be with him [James] all summer,” Davis said. “He knows how I feel about him."
Davis and James will reunite on the USA men’s basketball Olympic team this summer, aiming for gold. They'll be among a lineup of NBA stars, which could bring benefits and drawbacks. There's a chance other stars might try to persuade James to join their teams, adding more drama to the NBA.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham’s job status hangs in the balance after the Lakers' first-round exit, and reports from inside sources from the Athletic’s Shams Charania of a disconnect between players and the coaching staff during the season and discord over the substitutions and rotations from the head coach.
“It’s been a hell of a two years sitting in this seat, I’ll tell you that. It’s been a hell of a two years,” Ham said on his reflection the past two season as head coach.
The Lakers will head into the offseason with more questions than answers. Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka and Governor Jeanie Buss will spend the whole offseason trying to get the Lakers trending in a championship direction with or without James.
