The Denver Nuggets seemed to have snuck their way back into the ball game and on course for victory, but Anthony Davis knocked down a buzzer beater to kill their hopes.
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After leading the game for nearly its entire duration, the Lakers trailed the Nuggets by 1 point with 20.1 seconds left in the game.
Nikola Jokic had gone on a personal 11-0 run for Denver, including a 7-point barrage in 40 seconds of clutch time. Jokic’s scoring had taken the Nuggets from down 92-97 to up 103-102. It was all down to the last shot for Lakers nation.
Anthony Davis’s epic buzzer beating 3-pointer over Nikola Jokic wins it
Anthony Davis was emotional in his on-court interview post his epic buzzer beater. He explained how the this is exactly why the Lakers brought him to LA, and that he was dying to get these clutch shots in the playoffs.
“This is what they brought me here for, to make big time plays” Anthony Davis said.
“This is what they brought me here for, to make big-time plays.”
AD on his game-winning three. pic.twitter.com/nK44v2PpK3
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 21, 2020
On the Lakers’ last possession, the Nuggets did not miss a beat. They made all the right reads, went through all the right rotations and landed themselves in a comfortable spot.
Danny Green was consigned to a despairing baseline jumper, which was blocked by Jamal Murray. This left only 2.1 seconds on the game clock.
Also Read: “All I heard was roof roof” Anthony Davis jokes after a reporters’ dog barks during the conference
ANTHONY DAVIS AT THE BUZZER. (via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/a1vtgJ9uZr
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) September 21, 2020
The Lakers took Alex Caruso out for the final out-of-bounds play, subbing in Rajon Rondo. The Nuggets on their part took the 6’7″ Millsap out of the game to bring in 7-footer Mason Plumlee.
This was done by the Nuggets presumably to stop a lob to the rim. Rondo was the guy inbounding the ball.
The Lakers could not find LeBron James open for the shot. KCP’s crosscourt action and Danny Green’s cut were both covered.
With the 5 seconds nearly up, Rondo found Anthony Davis getting to the 3-point line and threw it to the big man. While it was a shot of despair, Davis’s perfect release allowed the shot to swish through the hoop.