Jamal Murray hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left, and the host Denver Nuggets beat a depleted Los Angeles Lakers team, 131-126, on Friday night.
Murray finished with 26 points, Nikola Jokic had 28 points, Christian Braun scored 22, Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook each had 17 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 points for Denver (43-24), which struggled against a Los Angeles team playing without six players.
The Lakers (40-25) were missing LeBron James (hamstring), Jaxon Hayes (knee) and Rui Hachimura (knee), who were back in Los Angeles, and Luka Doncic was on injury management for his left calf.
Gabe Vincent (left knee) and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle) were also out for injury management.
Austin Reaves had 37 points and 13 assists to go with four steals, Dalton Knecht scored 32 points, Shake Milton contributed 16 and Jordan Goodwin had 10 for the Lakers, who have lost four straight.
Denver was down by three in the final minute when Jokic converted a three-point play, Reaves missed a 16-footer and Murray drained a 3-pointer to put the Nuggets ahead. Los Angeles called a timeout to set up a final play but Westbrook stole the entry pass and iced it with a dunk.
The Lakers trailed by three to start the fourth but held Denver scoreless for nearly four minutes to take a 105-102 lead, their first since the second quarter.
The Nuggets rallied to lead 116-114 but Reaves tied it with two free throws with 3:04 left. Murray hit a 3-pointer and Braun stripped Reaves and dunked to make it 121-116.
Los Angeles rallied again. Knecht and Goodwin hit corner 3-pointers and Reaves had two straight steals that led to baskets and a 126-123 lead with 52.1 seconds left.
The Lakers led by 11 late in the first quarter and 40-32 after the first quarter but Denver took a 71-67 advantage into halftime.
The Nuggets expanded their lead to 83-71 in the first three minutes of the third quarter but Los Angeles chipped away to cut it to 102-99 heading into the fourth.
–Field Level Media
