Getty Donovan Mitchell and LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell was watching Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.
How do we know? Because the All-Star tweeted right after LeBron James botched a dunk in transition.
Never seen that 😂😂
James had a chance to put the Lakers up 10 when he messed up. The four-time MVP tried to get fancy in the open court and cost his team two points.
“Obviously, that sucks that the ball squirted out of my hand like that, whatever the case may be. Maybe hit my knee or whatever,” James said after Game 2. “But unforced turnover by myself. Horrible. Especially on the road.”
James is one of the best dunkers in NBA history, so it was shocking to see him fail like that. As Mitchell said, we haven’t seen LeBron blow a dunk like that in the playoffs before.
LeBron James & the Lakers Are Headed Home
The Lakers are down 2-0 to the Nuggets. Games 3 and 4 are at Crypto.com Arena, where the LakeShow are undefeated in the playoffs.
James, though, told reporters after Game 2 that he and his teammates can’t get comfortable just because they are playing at home.
“We still got to play with the same desperation as we did tonight,” James said. “We came out with an L, but doesn’t give us any more comfort. We can’t go into any postseason game with comfort just because you either haven’t lost at home or you’re going back home. I think it’s even more you got to be on edge because when you go home, you get in your own bed, get around your family, everybody’s being cool and jolly and everything. Nah, you got to be even more on edge when you go home. So we got to understand that going back and being down 0-2. There’s no reason for us to get comfortable.”
James is averaging 23.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists in the 2023 playoffs while shooting 49.4% from the field, 23.3% from beyond the arc and 76.9% from the free-throw line. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer is 0-of-10 from 3 in the Nuggets series.
LeBron James on Jamal Murray: ‘He Made Shots at the End of the Clock’
Nuggets star Jamal Murray torched the Lakers in Game 2, scoring 37 points in 42 minutes while shooting 11-of-24 from the floor and 6-of-14 from 3-point land. Murray put up 23 points in the fourth quarter to help the Nuggets win Game 2 by a final score of 108-103.
“He made shots. He made shots at the end of the clock when we guarded for 24 seconds,” James said. “He made two big-time shots, one over AD, one over myself. Had some mid-range game going. But he had his 3-point shot going in the fourth. It’s no surprise to anybody. He’s done it before. Hate to be on the other side of it, but I don’t feel like we had many breakdowns when he was doing what he was doing. He made shots and sometimes it’s just a make-or-miss league.
“I feel like defensively we were really good. They shot 43% for the No. 1 offense in the league. And so it just sucks that those five 3s in the fourth definitely killed us.”