Jamal Murray was responsible for the four most important shots of the Nuggets’ first-round series. He was also responsible for a behind-the-scenes conversation more consequential than any of those shots.

Peyton Watson encountered the aftermath by accident. “I think it was almost perfect timing,” he said in the locker room after Denver’s 108-106 Game 5 win to eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers. “But when I was back there getting ready for the game, just coming out of the training room, I saw Jamal right as he was leaving of Coach’s office. And I could tell — like, his eyes were even watering.”

Murray was leaving Michael Malone’s office after arguing his way onto the floor. In a pregame meeting that Malone described as “an emotional one,” Murray hashed out his injury status with the head coach and the team VP of sports medicine, Steve Short.

Needless to say, Murray emerged triumphant, if teary-eyed. The night ended with his second game-winning shot of the series, a leaning pull-up jumper with 3.6 seconds left to knock out his hero, LeBron James, for the second consecutive season.

Murray, who scored 32 to put the finishing touches on an uncharacteristically uneven series, approached Malone after it was over.

“I’m glad I played because I don’t know if we win if I don’t play tonight,” Malone recalled Murray telling him. The coach responded, “Well that’s the understatement of the year.”

Calf injuries can be notoriously dangerous due to the risk of damaging the Achilles tendon. So Murray’s left calf strain, which occurred in Game 4, was enough to keep all of Denver holding its collective breath Monday night when Murray was announced as available. He went through an abbreviated warm-up routine with a heavy wrap on his left leg.

“I came a little earlier today just to see if I was gonna be able to go. And I felt like I could,” Murray said. “And they just didn’t want me to risk it. They told me no. They told me no. And I didn’t say no. I just didn’t want to leave my teammates out there. We’ve been battling all season. Everybody’s hurt at some point. Everybody’s going through something. And I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I wasn’t about to play this game. … I’m just glad they listened to me. They listened to me listening to my body.”

His partner in crime, Nikola Jokic, offered levity: “He was faking it,” the two-time MVP said.

About those four shots: Before Murray’s Game 2 buzzer beater, he made a less memorable but equally difficult game-tying 20-footer with 30 seconds remaining. And in Game 5, before sticking the dagger back in Laker hearts, he cashed an open 3-pointer with 1:06 left and the Nuggets trailing by one.

When James evened the score with a pair of free throws, Malone abstained from calling a timeout — same as Game 2 exactly one week earlier in the same building. Instead, Murray walked the ball up slowly, glancing over at Malone on the sideline.

Maybe things got heated between them earlier. But it didn’t matter now, in a familiar situation. They coalesced without needing to stop the game for a commercial break. Then Murray and Jokic executed their two-man game with the usual synergy.

“It’s basically a timeout,” Murray said. “I think we had two timeouts and they didn’t have any. So when I looked at Coach, we called the play. I looked back. I asked him if we should go right away. I think it was only a two- or three-second difference, maybe four. And we knew what we were going to get to. We were going to get the last shot. That was the timeout right there. I’m an extension of him out there. So I was able to relay the message. Everybody got to their spots. I got to mine.”

As for the shot itself, coupled with the Game 2 winner: “Those are shots that you dream of as a little kid,” Murray said. “You practice in the backyard. At the playground.”

He was then reminded of another childhood memory, one that signifies why these playoff matchups with the Lakers have been so sentimental to Murray. James has his own impressive résumé of postseason game-winners, including a catch-and-shoot three to come from behind against Orlando in 2009. Murray was watching that one while wearing a LeBron jersey.

“I just remember talking to my dad — I’m a little kid, so I don’t know that much. And I’m like, ‘There’s no way they’re gonna win. There’s no way they’re gonna win.’ I just remember being out of breath, like I just got punched in the gut,” Murray said, grinning.

“I didn’t know how to react. He’s been one of my favorite players. … Just a pleasure to go against him, man. He makes you think during the game. He’s still a physically dominant guy out there, but he makes you think the game and the reads and the passes.”

The apprehension regarding Murray’s health isn’t resolved. He had to play Game 5 in a brace. Calf strains don’t disappear overnight. But he has a knack for supplying his most memorable moments in front of the least likely backdrops.

Now the Nuggets will have four days off to get him closer to 100% before the Timberwolves arrive. If Denver hadn’t closed out the first round Monday, the gamble would have been a waste.

“That was kind of the question,” Malone said. “Does Jamal sit tonight and you give him more days to rest up? Or do you kind of put all your chips in the middle of the table and say, ‘Look, we’re not going back to LA?'”

All’s well that ends well, for now. Malone called Murray “one tough cookie.” Watson went home with a different impression after seeing his starting point guard leaving Malone’s office.

“I think he was trying so hard to convince the training staff and the coaches that he was ready to play and that this was his moment, and there’s nothing that he cares about more than this,” Watson said. “So it’s something that’s amazing to see. … It means a lot to see him like that and be vulnerable.”

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After eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers from the postseason for the second straight year, the Denver Nuggets will have to do the same to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

The Nuggets took down Minnesota in five game in last year’s first round. Now they meet in the second round after the T-Wolves put the finishing touches on a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between Denver and Minnesota is set for Saturday at a to-be-determined time.

The Timberwolves’ sweep of the Suns marked the first time Minnesota has won a playoff series in 20 years. They will now meet the Nuggets in the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.

Here’s the complete series schedule:

Series schedule

(Click here to see schedule on mobile)

* If necessary

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DENVER — The Lakers’ stars were hobbling down the stretch, trying to give their team another opportunity to extend their first-round playoff series.

But just like the last time the Lakers were in Denver, Jamal Murray made sure they left Ball Arena with heartbreak instead of relief, hitting a game-winning shot in the final seconds to clinch the Nuggets’ 108-106 victory on Monday night, eliminating the Lakers in five games.

LeBron James (30 points, 11 assists), scored nine points in the fourth quarter, a period the Lakers entered trailing 81-79. He made a pair of free throws to tie the score at 106-all with 26 seconds left after drawing a shooting foul.

But the Nuggets, just as they did in their Game 2 victory, eschewed a timeout. They responded with their best counter: a Murray-Nikola Jokic pick-and-roll that gave Murray, who was playing with an injured calf, the space he needed to bury a 14-foot pull-up jumper over Austin Reaves with 3.6 seconds remaining.

It was Murray’s buzzer-beater that won Game 2.

The Lakers didn’t have any timeouts remaining, with Tauren Prince’s 40-foot heave falling short, officially ending the Lakers’ season for the second consecutive season.

The Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last summer on their way to winning the franchise’s first NBA championship, beat the Lakers for the 12th time in their last 13 games.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our crew despite everything that happened,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “Obviously, the series didn’t go in our favor, didn’t start the way we wanted it to, but to win that one at home, fight tooth and nail today to get this one, our guys showed a lot of guts and a lot of character and that resilience to continue to fight.”

Murray, who was medically cleared to play after warming up with an ice pack on his injured calf, finished with his best game of the five-game series: 32 points on 13-for-28 shooting (5 for 10 from 3-point range) and seven assists.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said it was an emotional scene before the game when he allowed Murray to play.

“He just told me, ‘I’m glad I played because I don’t know if we win if I don’t play tonight.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s the understatement of the year,’” Malone recounted. “That kid’s a warrior, man. The bigger the moment, the kid just continues to shine.”

Anthony Davis (17 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots) tried to fight through an apparent left shoulder/neck injury that he suffered early in the third quarter, but he wasn’t the same player after a strong first half. Davis had just one point and one field goal attempt in the second half.

Reaves finished with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, hitting multiple shots down the stretch to keep the Lakers in the game, but they didn’t get over the hump.

Rui Hachimura added 15 points while D’Angelo Russell added 14 points.

Jokic, who committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, narrowly missed his 19th career playoff triple-double with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists. Michael Porter Jr. had 26 points, making five 3-pointers.

The Lakers withstood a stronger start by the Nuggets, who led 28-24 after the first – Denver’s first lead at the end of the opening quarter of the series.

Murray led the Nuggets early with 12 first-quarter points, making three 3-pointers as part of Denver’s 5-for-10 first-quarter showing from behind the arc.

James and Davis led the Lakers in the second, a quarter the Lakers won 29-22, to take a 53-50 lead into halftime.

Davis suffered his injury just one minute into the third after getting hit by Porter.

He laid on the court on the baseline opposite the Lakers’ bench for a few minutes, with the entire team huddling around him, before walking off the court holding his left shoulder/neck area.

Davis stayed in the game after the Lakers’ timeout, but was clearly compromised, with his left arm limp and dangling by his side for most of the third before he was subbed out later in the quarter. The Nuggets took advantage of Davis being compromised, going on a 14-2 run to take a 74-71 lead and a two-point advantage going into the fourth.

The only other time James was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs came in 2021 when the Phoenix Suns beat L.A. in six games.

So, this was the shortest of James’ 17 trips to the playoffs, where he’s now 183-104 overall with a 41-13 series record and four titles.

The Nuggets advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round, beginning this weekend. That series starts in Denver, where the Nuggets are a Western Conference-best 36-8, including 3-0 in the playoffs.

Lead changes, clutch buckets and down-to-the-wire drama…

Relive the CHAOTIC final two minutes that led to the Jamal Murray series-winning shot pic.twitter.com/y0cP2dganz

— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2024

32 points, 5 triples, 7 assists… and the GAME-WINNING shot to close out the series.

What a night for Jamal Murray #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/6BhUFBiRnZ

— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2024

The Denver Nuggets ended the Los Angeles Lakers’ season, winning their first-round NBA playoff series 4-1 after prevailing 108-106 in Game 5 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Monday night, April 29, 2024.

The Denver Nuggets ended the Los Angeles Lakers’ season, winning their first-round NBA playoff series 4-1 after prevailing 108-106 in Game 5 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Monday night, April 29, 2024.

DENVER — The Lakers’ stars were hobbling down the stretch, trying to give their team another opportunity to extend their first-round playoff series.

But just like the last time the Lakers were in Denver, Jamal Murray made sure they left Ball Arena with heartbreak instead of relief, hitting a game-winning shot in the final seconds to clinch the Nuggets’ 108-106 victory on Monday night, eliminating the Lakers in five games.

LeBron James (30 points, 11 assists), scored nine points in the fourth quarter, a period the Lakers entered trailing 81-79. He made a pair of free throws to tie the score at 106-all with 26 seconds left after drawing a shooting foul.

But the Nuggets, just as they did in their Game 2 victory, eschewed a timeout. They responded with their best counter: a Murray-Nikola Jokic pick-and-roll that gave Murray, who was playing with an injured calf, the space he needed to bury a 14-foot pull-up jumper over Austin Reaves with 3.6 seconds remaining.

It was Murray’s buzzer-beater that won Game 2.

The Lakers didn’t have any timeouts remaining, with Tauren Prince’s 40-foot heave falling short, officially ending the Lakers’ season for the second consecutive season.

The Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last summer on their way to winning the franchise’s first NBA championship, beat the Lakers for the 12th time in their last 13 games.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our crew despite everything that happened,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “Obviously, the series didn’t go in our favor, didn’t start the way we wanted it to, but to win that one at home, fight tooth and nail today to get this one, our guys showed a lot of guts and a lot of character and that resilience to continue to fight.”

Murray, who was medically cleared to play after warming up with an ice pack on his injured calf, finished with his best game of the five-game series: 32 points on 13-for-28 shooting (5 for 10 from 3-point range) and seven assists.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said it was an emotional scene before the game when he allowed Murray to play.

“He just told me, ‘I’m glad I played because I don’t know if we win if I don’t play tonight.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s the understatement of the year,’” Malone recounted. “That kid’s a warrior, man. The bigger the moment, the kid just continues to shine.”

Anthony Davis (17 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots) tried to fight through an apparent left shoulder/neck injury that he suffered early in the third quarter, but he wasn’t the same player after a strong first half. Davis had just one point and one field goal attempt in the second half.

Reaves finished with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, hitting multiple shots down the stretch to keep the Lakers in the game, but they didn’t get over the hump.

Rui Hachimura added 15 points while D’Angelo Russell added 14 points.

Jokic, who committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, narrowly missed his 19th career playoff triple-double with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists. Michael Porter Jr. had 26 points, making five 3-pointers.

The Lakers withstood a stronger start by the Nuggets, who led 28-24 after the first – Denver’s first lead at the end of the opening quarter of the series.

Murray led the Nuggets early with 12 first-quarter points, making three 3-pointers as part of Denver’s 5-for-10 first-quarter showing from behind the arc.

James and Davis led the Lakers in the second, a quarter the Lakers won 29-22, to take a 53-50 lead into halftime.

Davis suffered his injury just one minute into the third after getting hit by Porter.

He laid on the court on the baseline opposite the Lakers’ bench for a few minutes, with the entire team huddling around him, before walking off the court holding his left shoulder/neck area.

Davis stayed in the game after the Lakers’ timeout, but was clearly compromised, with his left arm limp and dangling by his side for most of the third before he was subbed out later in the quarter. The Nuggets took advantage of Davis being compromised, going on a 14-2 run to take a 74-71 lead and a two-point advantage going into the fourth.

The only other time James was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs came in 2021 when the Phoenix Suns beat L.A. in six games.

So, this was the shortest of James’ 17 trips to the playoffs, where he’s now 183-104 overall with a 41-13 series record and four titles.

The Nuggets advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round, beginning this weekend. That series starts in Denver, where the Nuggets are a Western Conference-best 36-8, including 3-0 in the playoffs.

More to come on this story.

Lead changes, clutch buckets and down-to-the-wire drama…

Relive the CHAOTIC final two minutes that led to the Jamal Murray series-winning shot pic.twitter.com/y0cP2dganz

— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2024

32 points, 5 triples, 7 assists… and the GAME-WINNING shot to close out the series.

What a night for Jamal Murray #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/6BhUFBiRnZ

— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2024

Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ Game 5 win to the Lakers at Ball Arena in the Western Conference playoffs on Monday night.

1. Nuggets come out with a sense of urgency: The Nuggets finally won a first quarter. After Denver got outscored 122-95 in first in the previous four games, head coach Michael Malone challenged his team to play with a sense of urgency from the jump. They answered the call. The Nuggets outscored Los Angeles, 28-24, in the opening frame. Jamal Murray, who has been dealing with a calf injury, had the hot hand, scoring 12 points and shooting 3 for 6 from behind the arc. The quarter wasn’t easy for the Nuggets, as they had a brutal stretch where they missed five straight baskets and committed two turnovers, while the Lakers scored six unanswered points. Eventually, the Nuggets locked in, ending the first on a 10-0 scoring run.

2. Playoff Murray returns: Murray did it again. After scoring the game-winning shot in Game 2, Murray sent the Lakers back home on Monday night, hitting the game-winning basket in the final seconds of regulation. On a night when Denver needed him to become the relentless scorer he is known to be in the postseason, he delivered. Murray recorded 32 points and seven assists to help his team advance to the second round. Earlier in the fourth, Murray found a lane to the rim then took flight. The 6-foot-4 guard threw down a one-handed, rim-rattling dunk over LeBron James. And after the Lakers tied the game at 97, Murray converted a layup to put the Nuggets back on top.

3. MPJ is Mr. Consistency: The moment is never too big for Michael Porter Jr. With the Nuggets down 71-65 in the third quarter, Porter ignited a spark. First, he powered to the rim for a layup. On Denver’s following possession, the sharp-shooting forward drew a foul while knocking down a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one point. Porter didn’t stop there. He caught a pass from Aaron Gordon before burying a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner to give Denver a five-point lead with 1:35 remaining in the quarter. While Denver has collectively struggled to shoot the ball well in the first round, Porter has been a model for consistency. He entered Game 5 with 53.1% field goal percentage while shooting 44.1% from behind the arc. On Monday, Porter scored 26 points, including 12 in the third quarter, and shot 66.7% from the floor.

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Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ Game 5 win to the Lakers at Ball Arena in the Western Conference playoffs on Monday night.

1. Nuggets come out with a sense of urgency: The Nuggets finally won a first quarter. After Denver got outscored 122-95 in first in the previous four games, head coach Michael Malone challenged his team to play with a sense of urgency from the jump. They answered the call. The Nuggets outscored Los Angeles, 28-24, in the opening frame. Jamal Murray, who has been dealing with a calf injury, had the hot hand, scoring 12 points and shooting 3 for 6 from behind the arc. The quarter wasn’t easy for the Nuggets, as they had a brutal stretch where they missed five straight baskets and committed two turnovers, while the Lakers scored six unanswered points. Eventually, the Nuggets locked in, ending the first on a 10-0 scoring run.

2. Playoff Murray returns: Murray did it again. After scoring the game-winning shot in Game 2, Murray sent the Lakers back home on Monday night, hitting the game-winning basket in the final seconds of regulation. On a night when Denver needed him to become the relentless scorer he is known to be in the postseason, he delivered. Murray recorded 32 points and seven assists to help his team advance to the second round. Earlier in the fourth, Murray found a lane to the rim then took flight. The 6-foot-4 guard threw down a one-handed, rim-rattling dunk over LeBron James. And after the Lakers tied the game at 97, Murray converted a layup to put the Nuggets back on top.

3. MPJ is Mr. Consistency: The moment is never too big for Michael Porter Jr. With the Nuggets down 71-65 in the third quarter, Porter ignited a spark. First, he powered to the rim for a layup. On Denver’s following possession, the sharp-shooting forward drew a foul while knocking down a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one point. Porter didn’t stop there. He caught a pass from Aaron Gordon before burying a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner to give Denver a five-point lead with 1:35 remaining in the quarter. While Denver has collectively struggled to shoot the ball well in the first round, Porter has been a model for consistency. He entered Game 5 with 53.1% field goal percentage while shooting 44.1% from behind the arc. On Monday, Porter scored 26 points, including 12 in the third quarter, and shot 66.7% from the floor.

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Jamal Murray made a shot.

Again.

And in a playoff series that the Nuggets trailed more than they led on the scoreboard, they won four of five games.

Murray’s pull-up 14-footer with 3.4 seconds remaining handed the Nuggets a 108-106 Game 5 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and a first-round series win. Denver will advance to play the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.

Despite a shaky shooting series, Murray made two game-winners at home. With the Nuggets trailing in Game 5, he also sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:06 remaining in the fourth quarter after an Aaron Gordon offensive rebound in traffic.

Murray and Nikola Jokic became a beacon of efficiency again in clutch time, exchanging haymakers with the Lakers. On one smart possession, Michael Porter Jr. fed Jokic in the post from the right wing, and Rui Hachimura waited to send a double-team, fearing the hot hand of Porter. When he did, Murray anticipated the subsequent rotation to Porter and cut from the top of the key. He dunked on LeBron James for the lead. Murray finished with 32 points on 13-of-28 shooting.

Porter finished a remarkable series individually, rivaling Jokic as the Nuggets’ most consistent offensive player. He scored 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting including 5 of 7 from 3-point range in Game 5. He also contributed a pair of steals.

Murray seemed bothered by his left calf strain at times, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played on one ankle after spraining his left in the first quarter, and Anthony Davis spent most of the second half with his left arm glued to his side after a third-quarter collision with Porter injured his shoulder. For a series in the fifth game instead of the seventh, everyone involved was noticeably on fumes.

For Denver, that’s the cost of playing from behind every game. The Lakers didn’t max out at a double-digit advantage this time, but their lead got to 69-60 a few minutes into the second half. The effects of that injury to Davis hadn’t set in yet, though. Jokic sank a 3-pointer, Caldwell-Pope rebounded his own miss for a layup, and within minutes, Porter had a chance at a game-tying 4-point play. He missed the free throw, but Denver took the lead its next trip down the floor. It was a 14-2 run. The rest of the way was a back-and-forth affair.

Jokic finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists. James scored 30 to lead the way for Los Angeles. Davis was never the same after his injury.

The first half played out like a cruel twist of fate for the Nuggets. After shooting a dismal 17 for 68 (25%) on wide open 3s in the first four games of the series, they emerged knocking down shots and looking like their old selves again. They made seven of their first 14 attempts beyond the arc and went into the intermission shooting them at a 42% clip. Reggie Jackson got in on the action with an eight-point half. Not only that; the Nuggets used a 10-0 closing run to lead at the end of the first quarter for the first time all series.

They were checking most of the necessary boxes to flip a close-out game in their favor. Yet they trailed 53-50 at the half anyway.

How? One negative trend continued, and another popped up for the first time.

The Lakers outscored Denver 26-16 in the paint in the half, led by Davis’s 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting. In a pick-and-roll with James, Los Angeles punished Jokic over and over. Jokic played at the level of the screen more than the drop coverage he had played earlier in the series, and James kept finding Davis on the roll.

Speaking of Jokic: He played arguably his worst half of the season. The Lakers continued to relentlessly double-team him in the post, timing their defensive rotations to perfection in order to mitigate Denver’s attempts to exploit the double-teams. Jokic didn’t try to back down Davis. He forced bad passes. With 3:32 left in the second quarter, he had four points, four field goal attempts and four turnovers. Only when he started playing more aggressively did the Nuggets flip the script.

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