The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a 108-103 Game 2 playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets, proving LeBron James is human after all.
With the Lakers leading by eight points early in the second quarter, James had a clear run to the basket after being discovered in transition by Rui Hachimura.
The Lakers bench surged to their feet, the audience inside Ball Arena held its breath, and the world’s eyes widened in anticipation of a massive King James dunk.
However, as the four-time MVP began his ascension to the basket, the ball slipped from his grasp and fell off the court towards the front row, much to the delight of the home crowd and the bewilderment of the Lakers bench.
LeBron’s missed easy dunk was just one of many unusual mistakes committed by the 19-time All-Star in Game 2.
Despite scoring 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting, the 38-year-old was abysmal from three-point range. Despite adding nine rebounds and ten assists to his stat line, James shot 0-6 from beyond the arc, extending his playoff shooting troubles.
After the game, James pondered on the Lakers’ 0-2 start and stated that it wasn’t the end of the world.
“What you take out of it is the fact that this is not the NCAA tournament, it’s the first team to four wins,” James explained to reporters post-game, staying upbeat. “We have an opportunity to go home and play great basketball and hold serve.”
With Nikola Jokić held to 23 points – albeit with 17 rebounds and 12 assists to rack up yet another triple-double – it was Jamal Murray’s turn to torch the Lakers. To go with four steals, five assists and 10 rebounds, Murray scored an incredible 37 points in the huge win.
Murray caught fire in the fourth and there was little Los Angeles could do to thwart his offensive game. In a dominant final 12 minutes, the guard was unstoppable, scoring 23 crucial points.
“He had his three-point shot going in the fourth. It’s no surprise to anybody, he’s done it before,” James admitted afterward. “Hate to be on the other side of it, but I don’t feel like we had many breakdowns when he was doing what he was doing.”
Two-time MVP, Jokić was also in awe of his teammate’s performance.
“He was special. He was special. He won us the game,” said the Nuggets star. “I think he was amazing. Yes, maybe in the first half, he struggled to make shots, but when it mattered the most, he made shots and he won us the game basically.”
The game now shifts to Los Angeles, where the Lakers hope to begin a series comeback on Saturday.