Anthony Davis’ Buzzer-Beater Lifts LeBron James, Lakers Past Nuggets in Game 2

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Anthony Davis, welcome to your playoff moment.

The Los Angeles Lakers big man drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to lead his team to a 105-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Sunday's Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals at Walt Disney World Resort. 

As a result, the Lakers, who are the only top-two seed remaining in the playoffs, lead 2-0 and are two wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010.

On the other side, this is a brutal loss for the Nuggets after Nikola Jokic scored 11 straight points in the final three minutes to give them the lead before Davis had his hero moment. They have come back from down 3-1 two other times in these playoffs and will now need another head-turning comeback to advance to the Finals.

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AD WINS IT AT THE BUZZER.

OH MY. https://t.co/Um2uWqjmZR

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

https://t.co/f2AfJayyIO

Notable Player Stats

• Anthony Davis, F, LAL: 31 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK
• LeBron James, F, LAL: 26 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK
• Nikola Jokic, C, DEN: 30 PTS, 9 AST, 6 REB, 4 STL
• Jamal Murray, G, DEN: 25 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK
• Michael Porter Jr., F, DEN: 15 PTS, 4 REB

LeBron Starts and AD Finishes for Victors

It is a testament to the Lakers' depth and the star power of Davis that they easily won Game 1 with LeBron James scoring just 15 points.

The all-time great made his mark by facilitating and running the offense for extended stretches, but most teams couldn't win a playoff game without much of a challenge with the No. 1 option attempting just 11 field goals.

Enter aggressive LeBron for Game 2.

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Bron in his bag.

20 points in 13 minutes 👑 https://t.co/ummEVNnCCE

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

Sheesh Bron. https://t.co/9XrxtO2Daz

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

CARUSHOW.

Lakers bench got up for that one 😂 https://t.co/1qnxyiK8Bl

The King poured in 20 points in the first half alone with an array of three-pointers, aggressive drives to the rim and mid-range jumpers. If it wasn't clear before that he was setting the tone, it certainly was after he threw down an alley-oop pass from Rajon Rondo in the second quarter.

James made up for Davis' early struggles from the field and, with some support from Alex Caruso off the bench, helped the Lakers extend their lead to double digits by halftime.

AD found the touch in the third quarter as the Lakers extended their lead to 16 and appeared well on their way to a blowout victory. An aggressive James with Davis playing well is nearly impossible to beat, although Denver dialed up the defensive intensity on the role players during an extended run to pull within four heading into the fourth.

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AD ANSWERS BACK TO TAKE THE LEAD. https://t.co/h9AjjCFJjY

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That was nasty, AD 😳 https://t.co/pd5LNfBpcO

It appeared as if that and Jokic's incredible individual run in the closing minutes would be enough for the Nuggets to escape with a win even though Davis started playing better in the second half.

The seven-time All-Star had other ideas, though, and got lost behind a screener and drilled one of the most memorable shots of the entire playoffs. 

Nuggets Waste Jokic's Performance

At a certain point, somebody besides Jokic, Jamal Murray and, to a lesser degree, Michael Porter Jr. is going to have to do something meaningful offensively for the Nuggets in this series if they are going to come back.

Nobody else on the team scored in double figures in the Game 1 loss, and even Porter was just 3-of-9 from the field.

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JOKER CANNOT BE STOPPED. https://t.co/nX6xnGkJhK

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JOKIC. WHAT. https://t.co/h6SzleqGyj

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JOKER. CLUTCH. https://t.co/SxbrPkiybI

Nobody else was in double figures in the Game 2 loss either, and Denver turned it over 19 times as it consistently attempted to force the issue against a superior Lakers side. It is a credit to Porter the Nuggets were even in the game following James' hot start, as he quickly provided a spark off the bench.

Things finally started to click for Denver after it fell behind by 16 points, but only when the offense was basically Jokic or Murray.

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MPJ hits the tough shot with Bron in his face 💪 https://t.co/j6IWcXoLUw

Denver Nuggets @nuggets

Making a lil' run 👀 https://t.co/ZgVdoxh1jz

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Jokic facilitated the offense from the top of the elbow like a big-man point guard and Murray aggressively sought out his shots as the Nuggets gradually chipped away at the deficit. Even when the Lakers made a number of big threes, including one from Davis that pushed the lead to eight with just more than three minutes remaining, Jokic had an answer.

He went right at Davis in the post, drilled a three from the top of the key, tipped in a Murray miss and then appeared to give his side the win with a late basket to go up by one.

Unfortunately for him, Denver's defense couldn't come up with the final stop and likely lost its best chance at taking down the Lakers in this series.

What's Next?

Game 3 of the series is Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET when Denver will be the designated home team.