Broken defense, really broken defense, the Lakers once led the Nuggets by 20 points, 20 points, only one breath to win, but in the end it was reversed, and it was still killed, Murray's last anti-sky shot not only destroyed the Lakers' entire team on the spot, but also directly broke the hearts of Lakers fans, the Lakers finally failed to hold on to the end, losing to the Nuggets 99-101, the series was 0-2 behind, and in the face of the defending champion 0-2 behind, the Lakers want to reverse it is really too difficult, no less difficult than the 2016 Cavaliers 1-3 behind the Warriors, but at that time James was still at his peak, but now he is 40 years old。
Seriously, the Lakers have played very well in this game, James, thick eyebrows and Russell have all fought, Russell played probably the best game against the Nuggets in the past two years, 7 of 11 three-pointers, 23 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, thick eyebrows worked hard to defend Jokic, the offensive and defensive ends were really full of intensity, 14 of 19 shots in the game, 32 points and 11 rebounds, he really can't ask him to do more.
As for James, the 40-year-old is really fighting, blocking Murray head-on, playing 2+1 with Pope on the fast break, scoring 12 points in the last quarter, 9 of 19 shots in the game, 26 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists, only the last three-pointer can help the Lakers lock up the win, but it is just that breath, but how can you blame James for not throwing, he is really giving it his all, the steal and dunk in the final stage and two three-pointers are still super giant, but his physical fitness really can't support him to fight hard all over the court.
According to statistics, James averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in the first two games, and thick eyebrows averaged 32 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game in the first two games. To be honest, at this point in the series, I really don't know how the Lakers can turn it around.
Although Ham is still pouring chicken soup after the game, saying that the Lakers will hold the next two home courts, although there is news that Wood and Vanderbilt will return in the third game, they are obviously not the kind of key people who can turn the situation around, the Lakers lack an interior line that can go to the top to consume Jokic, plus the referee's whistle is obviously biased in favor of the Nuggets, the Lakers are really too difficult.
After the game, James, Bushy Eyebrows and Russell all talked about the referees, but it didn't help with the results, and a few uncomfortable stats were that when the Lakers fell behind 0-2 in the series, they ended up with a 2-20 record, with a 9% chance of progressing. The last time the Lakers came back from a 2-0 series win was against the Spurs in the 2004 Western Conference semifinals. But the Lakers have been eliminated by their opponents in the last 6 series when they fell behind 0-2, and 3 of them were swept by their opponents, and all the data and history seem to say that the Lakers are finished, and perhaps the only hope is that the Lakers still have James.
What is worth looking forward to is that the Lakers have a 19-21 away record this season and a 28-14 home record, since they can force the Nuggets to this point on the road, then you can expect the Lakers to return to their home court, at least win one game first with the blessing of the home atmosphere, to be honest, if the Lakers are leading by 20 points at home in this game, then they really have a chance to win, and now they are with the despair of being killed, as well as the anger of the referee, the third game back at home, may be the most promising to fight down, in any case, I hope that the Lakers team can have more people to stand up to help James and thick eyebrows, and strive to create miracles。