Through two games, the Lakers have yet to figure out what to do with Jamal Murray.
Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets were two opposite ends of the basketball spectrum. Game 1’s offensive showcase made way for Game 2’s defensive-minded, cold-shooting affair. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Nikola Jokic combined for 100 points on 35-for-56 shooting in Game 1. Thursday night, they totaled just 63 points on 22-for-55 shooting. Denver led for 47 minutes in Game 1. Los Angeles led for 32 minutes in Game 2.
Among the few commonalities this week were the Nuggets winning both contests and Jamal Murray shredding the Lakers’ defense for a pair of 30-point escapades. The 25-year-old has once again shown his knack for leveling up in the playoffs, averaging 34 points (68.4 percent true shooting), 7.5 rebounds, five assists, and 3.5 steals against the Lakers.
Through 2.5 quarters of Game 2, an encore from his 31-point Game 1 seemed nearly implausible for Murray. After opening the night 2-for-3 with six points, he misfired on 11 of his next 12 attempts and was laboring through a 3-for-15 showing filled with short and off-center misses. He very clearly looked like a person trying to play a professional sport with an ear infection. But then, he turned ablaze. He buried eight of his final nine shots, including seven straight. He splashed home four triples amid that flurry. His 3-for-15 slog slammed on the brakes and U-turned into an 11-for-24, 37-point supernova display.
After Los Angeles assigned Davis to Aaron Gordon so he could roam on Jokic as a helper midway through the third quarter, the Nuggets’ offense lost some luster, though it already struggled to manufacture all night. Jokic, who scored 21 of his 23 points before the nine-minute mark of the third, missed a slew of reliable shots and was 1-for-8 down the stretch. Davis’ patrolling and Gordon’s discomfort against that approach muddied the waters for everyone involved.
Murray stepped up with 23 fourth-quarter points. The sixth-year guard is presenting substantial issues for Los Angeles’ defense, primarily through two means: pick-and-roll and handoffs. When the Lakers employ drop coverage against him, he’s torching them.
