Usa Today Sports Midseason College Football Awards

Jamal Murray made another shot. Because of a flick of a wrist, LeBron James is gone. And he took Anthony Davis with him. The Nuggets vanquished the Lakers, beating them for the 12th time in 13 games to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Denver got the win. Los Angeles got the whine. No more stamping of feet, throwing arms in the air and begging for calls.

Michael Porter Jr. didn’t want the Nuggets to go back to Los Angeles for Game 6 of their Western Conference playoff series. He said it might’ve been spooky if they did. So on Monday night when Denver faced a third-quarter deficit against the Lakers, Porter took it upon himself to make sure his team wasn’t preparing for another plane ride. Down by four points, Porter drove to the rim for a layup.

Jamal Murray was responsible for the four most important shots of the Nuggets’ first-round series. He was also responsible for a behind-the-scenes conversation more consequential than any of those shots. Peyton Watson encountered the aftermath by accident. “I think it was almost perfect timing,” he said in the locker room after Denver’s 108-106 Game 5 win to eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers.

Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ Game 5 win to the Lakers at Ball Arena in the Western Conference playoffs on Monday night. 1. Nuggets come out with a sense of urgency: The Nuggets finally won a first quarter. After Denver got outscored 122-95 in first in the previous four games, head coach Michael Malone challenged his team to play with a sense of urgency from the jump.

Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets prepares to pull up for his eventual game-winning shot with fewer than five seconds to play during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 108-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, April 29, 2024. The Nuggets eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs for the second straight year by way of a 4-1 series victory.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope exited Game 5 of the Nuggets’ first-round playoff series with a sprained left ankle, according to the team. He is questionable to return. The injury appeared to occur as he left his feet for a layup attempt in the first quarter Monday night at Ball Arena. Caldwell-Pope checked out of the game with 4:41 remaining in the frame and was immediately examined by athletic trainers next to Denver’s bench.