After recently dropping a new Los Angeles Lakers career high of 51 against the Chicago Bulls, Luka Doncic continued to make his mark for the Purple and Gold, leading the team to a slim 127-125 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets on NBA Sunday action.
With five seconds left in a tied ball game, Doncic drove past Spencer Jones on the left wing before proceeding to pull his patented stepback jumper that caught nylon with less than a second left, ultimately sealing the win for the Lakers.
“Obviously, we wanna have the last shot, I saw they were doubling so I went to the other side… I work on this, so I trust my shot,” Doncic said postgame.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves Emerge as Late-Game Heroes
Despite the Lakers building as much as a 17-point lead early in the game, the Nuggets found themselves back in the fight in the final quarter, erasing the deficit and gaining a two-point lead in the dying seconds.
However, Austin Reaves gave LA another chance after purposely missing his second free throw and getting a teardrop to fall to force the game into another five minutes.
Despite both teams struggling offensively in overtime, Doncic’s baseline fadeaway eventually put the game to bed, as the Lakers notched their eighth win in the last nine games to improve to a 42-25 record. It is good enough for third in the Western Conference, half a game ahead of the Houston Rockets and a full game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic Carries the Nuggets as Jamal Murray Struggles
Despite the loss, Nikola Jokic once again solidified his case as one of the best players in basketball this decade, dropping a monster triple-double of 24 points, 16 rebounds, and 14 assists.
Jokic’s longtime running mate Jamal Murray, however, had a nightmarish performance. Up against the team he usually plays his best against, Murray only notched 5 points on 1-14 shooting. He also fouled out in overtime, the first time since his rookie year.
The Lakers will continue to sustain momentum on the road when they face the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, while the Nuggets will try to return to the win column against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
