At last, the Los Angeles Lakers were on the verge of defeating the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers dominated Denver in the first half of their first-round series in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, leading by 20 points early in the third quarter despite being behind 1-0 at the half.

Is the game over? Not exactly. With another masterful performance from Nikola Jokic and some clutch shooting from Jamal Murray in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets stormed back in the second half. The game and the series for Denver were won by Denver thanks to a picture-perfect buzzer-beаter by Jamal Murray against Anthony Davis in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Denver was able to rally and win for a variety of reasons. Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie took over the offense in the closing minutes, preventing LeBron James and Anthony Davis from touching the ball for complete possessions. Jokic was simply amazing; he fed Murray often while blasting the Lakers inside with his own points. Murray was awful for the first three quarters of the game, but in the fourth, he took off, scoring 14 of his 20 points.

The Lakers offered a different rationale for their defeat after the game: the referees had misled them. Following the game, D’Angelo Russell, LeBron James, and head coach Darvin Ham all made reference to the referees.

After the game, Ham remarked, “Some tough calls, some tough non-calls.” It’s becoming somewhat difficult. Throughout the season, there is only one method of officiating games. Then, when the playoffs get around, things are… left up for interpretation.

In his post-game news conference, James also brought up the crаzy conclusion of the Sixers-Knicks game, in which Philadelphia thought it had turned the ball over due to an uncalled foul at the end of the game. Regarding the refereeing at the conclusion of the game, the Sixers have lodged a dispute with the NBA.

Wouldn’t the Lakers want to win so that there may be more games and excitement in the Lakers-Nuggets series if the NBA truly wаnted to rig it? This one is completely unfit to pass the smell test.

After the game, Russell also spoke about the referees.

“A lot was determined by questionable calls,” the Lakers guard stated following the contest. “Everyone witnessed it.”

Indeed, in Game 2 against the Nuggets, there were a few dubious decisions and non-called that went against the Lakers. That occurs in every game and has no bearing on the result.

After Michael Porter Jr. seemed to strike Russell in the face during a third-quarter drive, the Lakers have every right to be unhappy that the officials reversed their foul call.

Over the last two complete seasons, the Lakers have had a significant free throw advantage over their opponents. In contrast to the Lakers’ 13 free throw attempts, the Nuggets made 17 free throws in Game 2.

That doesn’t really matter in the end. What matters is that the Lakers wasted a fantastic chance to bring this series back to Los Angeles tied. They are the only ones who are at fault.