On April 23, the first round of the NBA playoffs continued. The Denver Nuggets sat at home and ushered in Game 2 of the series against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nuggets came back from trailing by as many as 20 points to defeat the Lakers 101-99 and lead the series 2-0.
Nuggets: Jokic 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, Murray 20 points and 5 assists, Porter 22 points and 9 rebounds, Gordon 14 points and 7 rebounds.
Lakers: James 26 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists, Davis 32 points and 11 rebounds, Russell 23 points.
Russell, who had a poor performance in the last game, felt good in the first quarter of this game, and helped the Lakers take an 11-5 lead with three three-pointers. In the middle of the game, Davis and James led a 9-2 run, and the Lakers stretched the margin to double digits at 22-11. Jokic scored eight points in a row to lead the Nuggets to close the score, and at the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets trailed the Lakers by four points at 24-28.
Midway through the second quarter, Davis made a strong effort, and the Lakers launched an 11-2 offensive surge, and the Lakers led the Nuggets by 10 points at 39-39 with 3:23. In the last 2 minutes, James hit a 2+1 and Russell hit a three-pointer, and the Lakers extended their lead before halftime, and the Lakers went into halftime with a 15-point lead at 59-44.
In the third quarter, the Lakers continued to extend their lead, with Davis' 2+1 and Reaves' three-pointer helping the Lakers lead 68-48 at 10:01 to 20 points. In the second half of the quarter, the Lakers' shooting percentage dropped, and the Nuggets took the opportunity to launch a wave of 10-0 attacks, and the Nuggets chased 69-79 after the third quarter of the game.
After the Nuggets scored six straight points in the final quarter, they chased the score to 77-82, and the Lakers called a timeout. After the timeout, Murray scored four straight points to put the Nuggets up to 81-83. James hit two three-pointers at the critical moment, and the Lakers opened 89-81. Jokic scored 2+1, Porter scored 300 steps through Yang, and the Nuggets chased it to 95 at 1:15. In the final moments, the two sides were inseparable, and Murray's squeeze helped the Nuggets win 101-99.