The Los Angeles Lakers looked like they were going to cruise to a win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their opening round playoff series. But a fourth quarter meltdown led to disaster for the Lakers. And Lakers legend Magic Johnson was quick to put the blame on the team after the loss.
Los Angeles led in the game by as much as 20 points in the third quarter. But they allowed the Nuggets to stick around in the game, which ended up resulting in a heartbreaking defeat.
Nuggets star Jamal Murray struggled for much of the game, but came through when it mattered most, hitting a game-winning midrange shot as time expired to stun the Lakers and take a 2-0 lead in the series.
"Murray, makes a move…GOOOOOOOOD. THE NUGGETS HAVE WON."
Kevin Harlan on the call for Jamal Murray's buzzer-beater. Nuggets come back from being down 20 to take a 2-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/QOMxBC8pd9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 23, 2024
It was a devastating loss for just about every Lakers fan. And the loss hit Magic Johnson especially hard considering all of his ties with the illustrious franchise.
“Last night I was so devastated I couldn’t even tweet,” wrote Johnson in a social media post on Tuesday. “An unbelievable shot by Jamal Murray, and an outstanding comeback by the Nuggets.”
Johnson then made it clear that he believes the Lakers can blame nobody but themselves for the loss.
“The Lakers have nobody to blame but themselves. They did everything they were supposed to do but win the game! AD and LeBron both did their part, they got scoring help from Russell, and they still lost.”
Many Lakers players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis were quick to blame the officiating in the game for their fourth quarter collapse.
But Johnson is absolutely right. You can’t blame officiating as the sole reason that you blew a 20-point lead in the game.
Maybe the Lakers will take some of the accountability for the loss that Johnson is putting on them to heart and come out hungry in Game 3 of the series on Thursday night. But it is hard to argue that this loss on Monday night is anything but a devastating one…
