Jamal Murray took over in crunch time for the Denver Nuggets anew as they got back into the NBA Western Conference finals with a much-needed win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Murray hit two triples in the last final minutes to help the Nuggets get their act together in the middle of a furious Lakers run and win, 114-106, in Game 3 on Tuesday, September 22 (Wednesday, September 23, Manila time).

The Lakers shaved what was once a 20-point Nuggets lead to just 4 points, 99-103, with 4 minutes left before Murray delivered the big time plays as they cut their series deficit to 1-2.

Murray – who finished with 28 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals – sank a stepback trey over Alex Caruso to restore order for the Nuggets and dished out a gorgeous assist to Paul Millsap for a 108-99 lead.

He then capped off the Nuggets’ 8-0 run with a booming three-pointer from 29 feet with a minute remaining as the Lakers never came close again.

Jerami Grant played his finest game in the postseason with a playoff career-high 26 points for the Nuggets, while Nikola Jokic chipped in 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Monte Morris added 14 points off the bench in the win.

LeBron James notched a triple-double of 30 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals for the Lakers, but the lead the Nuggets built proved too much to overcome.

‘Not ready to go’

Denver coach Michael Malone said his team –  which suffered an agonizing buzzer-beater defeat in Game 2 on Sunday – was determined not to go 3-0 down in the series. 

The Nuggets have already overturned 3-1 series deficits en route to the Western Conference finals.

“I had no doubt we were going to show up tonight,” Malone said. 

“We have won 6 straight elimination games. Everybody always has us packing our bags and leaving, but we’re not ready to go. They’re a very resilient group and they have proved that time and time again.”

Asked about his late flourish, Murray said he had set out to lead by example.

“That’s my whole energy, my whole approach to the game, not getting down if I miss a couple of shots,” Murray said.

“I’m just trying to be aggressive… but the most important part is the energy I bring when I’m talking to my teammates, being a vocal leader, getting up and down and pushing everybody so they tend to follow. I just wanted to see them have a lot of fun today.”

The Lakers trailed 77-97 early in the 4th quarter before they went on a massive 21-4 blitz capped by a James layup to narrow the gap to a single possession, 98-101.

However, that was the closest the Lakers could get as the Nuggets answered with the win-clinching 13-8 run.

Anthony Davis backstopped James with 27 points. – with a report from Agence France-Presse