The LA Lakers’ season ended Monday night after Jamal Murray hit another game-winner to send them home and advance the defending champion Denver Nuggets to the next round. Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 4-0, while the Boston Celtics enjoyed another huge win over the Miami Heat to take a 3-1 series lead.
The Denver Nuggets advanced to the next round of the NBA playoffs after eliminating the LA Lakers on Monday night thanks to Jamal Murray’s game-winning shot in the final seconds of Game 5.
The Lakers avoided back-to-back sweeps against the Nuggets by winning Game 4 at home and looked to produce one of the greatest comebacks in NBA history as they returned to face the defending champions.
However, their postseason hopes were dramatically dashed after the Nuggets secured a 108-106 victory. Murray was a doubt heading into Game 5 after suffering a strain the previous game, but managed to score 32 points on the night including the game-winner with just 3.6 seconds left as the Nuggets finished 4-1 winning the series.
The 27-year-old also hit the game-winning shot in Game 2 of the series as the Nuggets look to become the first team to win back-to-back NBA titles since the 2018 Golden State Warriors.
“Shout out to the Lakers, they gave us a great run,” Murray said. “These are the shots you dream about as a little kid. “I came a little early today to see if I could go, and I felt like I could, and they just didn’t want me to take any chances.
“They told me no, and I didn’t say no. I didn’t want to leave my teammates there. We fought all season.
“Everybody gets hurt at some point, everybody goes through something, and I just couldn’t live with myself if I wasn’t able to play this game.
“I’m glad they listened to me – and listened to me listen to my body – and just trust me with that.”
The Nuggets will now face the Minnesota Timberwolves in a rematch of last season’s first round playoff series where they defeated Anthony Edwards and Co. en route to the NBA title.
It was another bitter end to the season for NBA great LeBron James who scored a record 30 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.
The 39-year-old was noncommittal about his future with the franchise and the sport after the Lakers’ elimination.
“First of all, tip your hat to them,” James said. “The defending champs. They’re a great team, they’re well coached and they’ve gone on a streak to win the series. You give credit where credit’s due, that’s for sure.” When asked about his future, James replied, “I don’t have an answer … to be honest. I haven’t thought about it much. We’ll get over it when we have to.”
Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder also advanced to the next round of the postseason with a 4-0 sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Thunder became the youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series with a 97-89 victory on Monday, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams with 24 points each.
“I think we’re well rested for this series,” Gilgeus-Alexander said. “And I would say keep the same mindset. Do whatever it takes to win. Each batch will look different.
“Every game is going to look different. Teams adjust. You play different teams. You just try to win at all costs, and that’s what’s important in the NBA.”
The Thunder will face the winner of the series between the LA Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics took a big step toward securing their place in the next round with a clear 102-88 road win at the Miami Heat.
Derrick White was the star of the night as he scored a career-high 38 points to help the Celtics go 3-1 as they look to wrap up the series in Boston later this week.
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Celtics as they lost Kristaps Porzingis to a calf injury in the first half.
“All of us, our mindset has to change,” said veteran center Al Horford, who replaced the injured Porzingis after halftime.
“I talked to Luke [Cornet] and Xavier [Tilman] and let them know that we all have to be ready to step up and do a little bit more because KP has been playing so well on defense.”
Celtics star Jayson Tatum added, “We’re going to have to play different, but it’s a next-man-up mentality as long as he’s off the court.
“Obviously, I don’t know anything [yet] — but it’s the next man up. We just have to find a way to win every game.”