NBA Playoffs: Nuggets dominate series, leave Lakers reeling

The Denver Nuggets are on track for a spot in the NBA Finals. The Colorado franchise won at Ball Arena in a very close game ending 108-103 over the Los Angeles Lakers in the second game of the Western Conference Finals, and now lead the series 2-0. The Lakers went to the halftime break ahead on the scoreboard (48-53). However, after a more effective third quarter and with the scoring of one of the team's best players in the last twelve minutes, the home team managed to gain traction and complicate the game for the Lakers.

Nikola Jokić could have been the man of the match, as usual, but not this time. The spotlight was stolen by Jamal Murray in a titanic performance by the Nuggets' Canadian point guard, who scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter. It didn't end there, though, as he added 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 rebounds: Unstoppable and rightly named Player of the Match (MVP).

Seventh triple-double in the NBA Playoffs 2023, this time a little lighter performance than the first game of the Western Conference Finals. Nikola Jokić 's performance is like something out of a movie. The Serbian center finished the game with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists. To win the next few games, the Lakers must find the formula to stop Jokić. Michael Porter Jr. did not disappoint either, scoring 16 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.

The loss was too much for the Los Angeles Lakers. Looking at the overall statistics, their opponent played better, but the Laker's excellent performance in the first two quarters and the outstanding performance of four of their players perhaps deserved a better result. In the first 24 minutes, Rui Hachimura was the best Player, even though he had to deal with Jokić. The center finished the game with 21 points.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis tried to bring the tied series to Los Angeles without success. Both recorded a double-double: King James scored 22 points and dished out 10 assists (in addition to grabbing 9 rebounds), and The Brow tallied 18 points and 14 rebounds. Austin Reaves also gave a remarkable performance, with 22 points and 5 assists. However, all these were insufficient numbers to achieve victory. Game 3 will be played at Crypto.com Arena this Saturday.