Nuggets star Jamal Murray stunned the Lakers with a buzzer-beating shot on April 22 to give his team a 2-0 lead in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Murray, who also played a vital role in the Nuggets sweeping the Lakers 4-0 in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, is starting to become a thorn in the side of the LeBron James-led team.
That’s precisely why Lakers legend Robert Horry has coined a new nickname for Murray — The Laker Killer.
Horry unveiled the nickname on the April 22 episode of Spectrum SportsNet’s post-game analysis show.
“We always talk about [Nikola] Jokic being the Laker Killer, but it ain’t Jokic,” Horry said. “It’s Murray. Because down the stretch, Jokic missed a lot of shots, but Murray [came up big in the clutch]. We had every opportunity to win this game, but now, I am worried. I am worried about Murray because he is the Laker Killer.”
James Worthy, however, disagreed with Horry’s take.
“The biggest Laker Killer, to me, are the Lakers themselves,” Worthy said. “Two games where you had control and then you shoot yourself. There’s no excuse for that. You have to play up to playoff standard. You can’t make multiple mistakes in clutch moments.”
Lakers Keep Blowing Leads to Nuggets
To Worthy’s point, the Lakers have made it a habit to blow double-digit leads against the Nuggets. After blowing a 12-point lead in Game 1 on April 20, the Lakers blew a 20-point advantage in Game 2 on April 22.
Similarly, in the 2023 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers blew a 15-point lead in Game 4 and an 11-point lead in Game 2. In fact, the Purple & Gold was up at various stretches of all four games but just couldn’t find a way to put away Nikola Jokic & Co. down the stretch. The same issue seems to be plaguing them again in 2024.
After the April 22 loss, LeBron James admitted that his team couldn’t afford to blow leads against a team as mighty as Denver.
“A 20-point lead in this league, it’s not safe, especially against the defending champion. We’ve got to do better. But we had our chances,” James said, via The Athletic.
Anthony Davis echoed his teammate’s sentiments.
“We’ve shown that we’re more than capable,” Davis said, via The Athletic. “We have stretches where we just don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor. And those are the ones that cost us. So we have two days to get it right and come ready to win Game 3 on Thursday [April 25].”
Tall Task Awaits Lakers
History suggests that the Lakers have a daunting task ahead to try and overcome a 2-0 deficit, especially against a team such as the 57-win juggernaut i.e. the Nuggets.
Only 33 teams have bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to win a series in the 78-year history of the NBA Playoffs. Incidentally, three of those teams were led by LeBron James, but none had to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the first round of the playoffs.
The James-led Cavaliers famously bounced back from a 2-0 deficit (and later 3-1) to beat the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. James’ Cavs were also down 2-0 to the Detroit Pistons in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals before winning four in a row to make that year’s NBA Finals.
James would have to pull off similar heroics for his Lakers to have even the slightest chance to overcome the odds against Denver.
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