On the 4th and 23rd of Beijing time, the second game of the series between the Lakers and the Nuggets continued, and the Lakers suffered a big reversal when they once led by 20 points, and finally lost to the opponent 99-101, suffering two consecutive defeats, and the series score was rewritten to 0-2. Below, let's dive into the reasons why the Lakers lost this game:
First, the Lakers have problems defending Jokic, the core of the Nuggets. Although Davis did a good job of restricting Jokic in the first half, after Jokic adjusted his tactics in the second half, Davis failed to respond effectively, resulting in Jokic getting 15 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in the second half, and finally hitting a triple-double of 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists.
Secondly, in the face of Murray's outburst, the Lakers were a little unexpected and at a loss. In the first three quarters of the game, under the strict defense of the Lakers, Murray only scored 6 points, but in the crucial fourth quarter, he suddenly exploded, scoring 14 points alone, including the final whistle kill, once again showing his ability to solve and big heart, and the Lakers did not seem to have anything to do about it.
Third, the Lakers are still at a disadvantage in terms of interior scoring and rebounding. The Nuggets have a super interior player like Jokic, and against this kind of team, the protection of the restricted area and rebounding is especially important. At this point, the Lakers obviously did not do enough, the whole game, the Nuggets led by Jokic and Gordon scored 54 points in the Lakers restricted area, while the corresponding Lakers only had 38 points inside, and the Lakers were also 40-48 behind in rebounding, of which the frontcourt rebounds were 4-9, and the Lakers' interior height was not low, so the enthusiasm for rebounding was obviously problematic.
In the end, the Lakers were not ideal in terms of turnover control. In the whole game, the Lakers had as many as 14 turnovers as a team, of which Davis and Russell both contributed 4 turnovers, while on the Nuggets' side, the whole team only had 9 turnovers, and the Nuggets had an absolute advantage in taking advantage of Lakers' mistakes to score.
It is worth mentioning that the Lakers trailed the Nuggets 13-17 in free throws in this game, which was the first time in their last 10 meetings that they made fewer free throws than their opponents, and the Lakers, from the head coach to the players, were extremely dissatisfied with this. Head coach Ham said after the game that there were some controversial decisions in the game that affected the direction of the game, and James, the core of the team, also disputed and complained about the referee's decision during and after the game.
Historically, the Lakers have faced 22 0-2 deficits in best-of-seven series, ultimately winning only two of those games. That means they have a comeback and a 7.3% chance of progressing to the next round, and it's clear that the team has been pushed to the edge of a cliff. The next game of the series will be moved to Los Angeles, and the Lakers will have a chance to recover their disadvantage at home, but will they be able to turn the tide and pull off a miracle?