Jamal Murray hits another game-winner to end the Lakers’ season

Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray has turned into the Los Angeles Lakers’ worst nightmare.

Murray last week stunned the Lakers with an iconic dagger to complete a 20-point Nuggets comeback in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round series (video here).

Murray did the same thing in Game 5 to end the Lakers’ season in front of his home fans at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.

With the score tied at 106, Murray drained the go-ahead midrange shot near the left elbow to ice the game for the defending champions.

JAMAL MURRAY CAME UP CLUTCH AGAIN FOR THE NUGGETS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DDqgg3C3KT

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 30, 2024

The Lakers still had 3.6 seconds left after Murray’s shot but didn’t have any timeouts remaining. All they could muster was a halfcourt heave from Taurean Prince that was well short of the rim.

There was a possibility that Murray wasn’t even going to play in Game 5. The Nuggets star was listed as questionable on the injury report before the contest due to a lingering calf issue.

Murray powered through the pain to lead all scorers with 32 points on 13/28 shooting from the field. He also added 3 rebounds and 7 assists.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was one rebound shy of a monstrous triple-double. The 2-time MVP finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds, and 9 rebounds in the contest.

The Nuggets’ series win secured them a date with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semis.