(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ahn Hong-seok = The Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) finished their first two home games in a row against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals with a low horse head that poured 23 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Denver defeated the Lakers 108-103 in the home game in the second leg of the 2022-2023 NBA Western Conference Finals (4 wins from 7 games) held at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, USA on the 19th (Korean time).
After losing to the Lakers and having to be satisfied with the conference runner-up in the 2019-2020 season, Denver, who reached the western final stage three years later, swept the first and second games to further increase the chances of advancing to the championship match.
Both teams will move to the Lakers’ home, the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, to play Game 3 on the 21st.
The 3-point head broke the balance of the game, which had been tossing and turning until the beginning of the 4th quarter.
Murray hit a 3 with nine minutes remaining to give Denver an 84-83 lead, then drove in three 3s and two long runs in the next six minutes.
In the meantime, the Lakers rarely scored except for Austin Reeves’ three points, and Denver widened the gap to 101-94 with three minutes left at the end of the quarter.
The Lakers, who were on the verge of defeat, made a last-minute foul operation, but Head calmly put 7 out of 8 free throws to seal Denver’s victory.
Murray, who had succeeded in only 2 out of 9 3-pointers until the 3rd quarter, suddenly entered the 4th quarter and put 4 out of 5 3-pointers into the rim, making home fans cry and laugh.
The head shone brightly, scoring 37 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, the most of both teams.
‘Triple Double Machine‘ Nikola Jokic also performed unchangingly.He posted 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists to record his 13th triple-double in the playoffs.
Denver continued its eight-game winning streak in the playoffs this season.
The Lakers suffered from the sluggish performance of ‘King’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
James threw six 3s and didn’t score any, while Davis hit just one of three.