Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets Game 2: Live score, updates, news, stats and highlights

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Benyam Kidane
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#Davis #Jokic

The Los Angeles Lakers held off the Denver Nuggets' second-half comeback to seal victory in Game 2, 105-103.

With just 2.1 seconds remaining on the clock and the Lakers down 103-102, Anthony Davis buried the clutch 3-pointer from the wing at the buzzer to seal the victory and put the Lakers up 2-0. 

Davis finished with a game-high 31 points and nine rebounds — including the Lakers' final 10 points. LeBron James recorded 26 points and 11 rebounds on the night. 

Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 30 points, nine assists, and six rebounds, going back-and-forth with Davis down the stretch as the big men traded buckets in the clutch.  

If you missed any of the action we had you covered with live updates, highlights and more from this contest.

FINAL: Lakers 105, Nuggets 103

PREVIEW | BOX SCORE | PLAY-BY-PLAY

- ANTHONY DAVIS WINS IT FOR THE LAKERS!!!

- Rondo finds Davis on the inbound and he rises up over Jokic to bury the CLUTCH triple at the buzzer! Davis scored the final 10 points for the Lakers to fend off the Nuggets' spirited comeback. 

- Davis responds with a bucket, but Jokic comes right back down the other end, backing him down and getting the floater to go. The Nuggets lead 103-102 with 20.8 seconds to go.

- The Nuggets take the lead!!!! Jokic tips in Murray's air-balled three at the end of the shot clock to make it 101-100. make that a 9-0 Jokic run.

- Jokic scores seven quick, unanswered points and the Nuggets are within striking distance with 1:04 to go. They trail 100-99!!

- Dozier misses a pair of free throws and Anthony Davis follows it up with a 3-pointer from the corner for a five-point swing. Lakers extend the lead to 100-92 with 3:03 remaining. 

- After the Nuggets briefly took the lead, the Lakers have connected on 4-of-5 from the 3-point line to re-gain control of the contest. 

- PJ Dozier draws the offensive foul on James' drive to the basket. Big defensive play for the Nuggets! Lakers lead 97-92.

- The Lakers answer right back with back-to-back triples from Danny Green and Rajon Rondo to push the lead back out to five points.

- It's going right down to the wire! Jamal Murray's layup gives the Nuggets the lead 87-86.

End of third quarter: Lakers 82, Nuggets 78

The Nuggets are making things interesting heading into the fourth quarter as they trim the deficit to four points after closing the period on a 24-12 run.

- Jokic is up to 18 points, while Murray has 19.

- Davis is up to 21 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers after pouring in 12 points in the quarter. 

- Denver refuse to lay down - Michael Porter Jr hits another triple to cut the lead to five points. (2:48) 

- No stranger to facing big deficits, the Nuggets use a 14-4 run to cut the lead down to 74-68. Can they pull off another comeback?

- Davis is doing it all to start the third quarter. He hits the jump shot, rejects Murray at the rim and then finds Danny Green for the wide-open triple. Lakers up 70-54 (8:11).

- The Lakers extend their lead to start the third, scoring 10 of the first 14 points of the second half.


Half-time: Lakers 60, Nuggets 50

- The Lakers take a 10-point lead into the half, led by 20 points from LeBron James. Davis and Caruso have nine points each, while KCP has eight. 

- Despite shooting just 3-of-10 from the field, Jokic leads the Nuggets with 14 points, eight coming at the free-throw line. Murray and Porter Jr have 10 apiece.

Half-time team stats:

#Nuggets #Lakers

- After making a huge impact in Game 1, Dwight Howard is at it again!

The Lakers pick up a couple of technical fouls after Howard gets tied up with Jokic under the basket. Howard is assigned one as well as assistant coach Phil Handy.

- The Lakers bigs have made life tough for Jokic in the first half. He's got six points on 3-of-10 from the field. Denver hasn't scored a field goal in over four minutes (3:53).

- Another turnover from the Nuggets and the Lakers get out in transition again, with Alex Caruso punching home the one-handed jam. He extends the lead to 47-36, capping off a 9-1 run.

- Davis checks back into the game with Dwight Howard to give the Lakers defence a much-needed boost after the Nuggets pile on 15 points early in the period. (7:14)

- LeBron is in attack mode, bringing up his 20th point of the game with an and-1 finish!

- The Nuggets answer right back with buckets from Monte Morris and Michael Porter Jr to cut the lead to just four points. Great start to the quarter for the Nuggets offence. They've made some tough buckets to keep within reach.

- LeBron crams home the alley-oop flush off the Rondo dime as the Lakers connect on 10 of their last 11 field goal attempts.

End of first quarter: Lakers 29, Nuggets 21

- The Lakers turn up the intensity late in the period to take an eight-point lead into the first break, thanks to a big opening quarter form LeBron. He leads the way with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. 

- The Nuggets have turned the ball over seven times in the opening period, with the Lakers defence swarming the perimeter and making their presence felt at the rim to create plenty of fast-break oportunities.

- Anthony Davis is going right at Jokic in the paint as the Lakers storm out on an 18-3 run to take their largest lead of the game 25-15.

- Danny Green says nope!

- After just two of the game’s first 15 shots went down, the Nuggets have found some offensive rhythm. They're getting into their sets early in the shot clock and have taken a 12-7 lead thanks to an 8-0 run.

- LeBron leads the Lakers with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while the rest of the Lakers are 0-12.


- It's been a slow start on offence for the Nuggets as Jerami Grant gets the first basket of the game with 8:43 remaining in the first quarter.

- LeBron drills a 3-pointer for the first basket of the game!

Pre-game

- Lakers starting lineup: Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Popwe, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and JaVale McGee

- Nuggets starting lineup: Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap, and Nikola Jokic

- The Lakers are back in their Black Mamba Edition jerseys for Game 2

- Get hyped Nuggets fans!

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Benyam Kidane Photo
Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor for The Sporting News.