Entering the Western Conference finals, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were 26–11 as a tandem in the playoffs. Headed back to Los Angeles after two games in Denver, LeBron and AD together are now 26–13—and that’s in large part because their two-man game is being bested by Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray’s.
Once again, there is plenty to unpack after the Nuggets’ 108–103 win over the Lakers on Thursday, a victory that gave Denver a 2–0 lead in the series and put it only two wins away from the Finals. Los Angeles switched its starting lineup to include Jarred Vanderbilt. Rui Hachimura continued to be a postseason difference-maker. Bruce Brown balled out. Tristan Thompson played for 12 seconds.
And yet arguably the biggest factor in this series so far is the Nuggets have gotten much better play from their two stars than the Lakers have. And at no time was this more obvious than in the fourth quarter of Game 2, when Murray scored 23 points on his own—nearly doubling the combined total of James and Davis, who tallied 12 in the final period.
