Was the Anthony Davis Buzzer Beater a Poisoned Apple for the Los Angeles Lakers?

The Los Angeles Lakers have done it once again. They defeated the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the WCF. Anthony Davis sealed the game for the Lakers with an insane buzzer-beater, putting the Lakers ahead 105-103.

Davis was automatic during the fourth quarter of the ballgame as he scored the last 10 Lakers points during the final stretch. But the question remains, how did the game end up becoming such a close one? The Lakers had a furious start with LeBron James leading the pack. They even held a 16 point lead at one point in the third quarter.

So what made the game such a close one? It was a mix of LBJ’s cold second half coupled with costly turnovers by the Lakers. Bron scored 20 of his 26 points in the first quarter alone, and it looked like he would have an another gigantic scoring night. However, things went in the opposite direction and Bron went ice cold in the latter half of the game. He finished the game with six turnovers and a negative 9 +/-. If it weren’t for AD’s crucial scoring run, the Lakers could have lost the lead in the series.

Apart from James’ poor second-half performance, the Nuggets stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray showed up big time in the second half. Jokic caught fire during the final minutes of the game as he scored the final 11 points for the Nuggets.

During that stretch, the Lakers were unable to score even a single point in return. Despite that, the Lakers now have a comfortable 2-0 lead and can advance to the NBA finals with just two more games.

What needs to improve for the Los Angeles Lakers?

Heading to Tuesday night’s Game 3 battle, the purple and gold need to reduce giving away careless turnovers. Apart from LBJ, the Lakers as a team have a total of 23 turnovers, which isn’t a good sign for them. Moreover, the Lakers’ big men need to find a way to contain Jokic. In Game 2, Jokic did everything for the Nuggets. He was passing the ball, drawing fouls, posting up in the paint, and hitting jump shots left and right.

The Joker finished the game with 30 points and 9 assists while shooting 45% from the field. If the Lakers do not find a way to stop him, they might get into more trouble in the next few games.

What do you think? Will the Lakers cruise to the NBA Finals or could the Nuggets make a comeback in the WCF?