MURRAY STRIKES ANEW

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Jamal Murray nailed a last-gasp jump shot as the defending champion Denver Nuggets sent LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers crashing out of the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs with a series-clinching, 108-106, victory on Monday.

Murray’s sublime go-ahead bucket with four seconds remaining settled another pulsating battle between the Western Conference rivals and wrapped up a 4-1 series win for Denver, who now face Minnesota in the next round.

Murray finished with 32 points while team-mate Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers’ bid to overturn a 3-0 series deficit came up short in front of 19,861 fans at Denver’s Ball Arena.

NBA icon James, meanwhile, finished with 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Lakers scoring in what was the final act of his 21st season in the NBA.

‘They’re a hell of a team.’

Afterwards, James declined to be drawn on his future plans, saying he would now spend time with his family before preparing for this summer’s Olympics.

Asked if Monday’s defeat may have been his last game for the Lakers, James smiled and replied: “I’m not going to answer that.”

Lakers defensive stalwart Anthony Davis, who appeared troubled by a shoulder injury for much of the game, had 17 points with 15 rebounds and four assists.

“They’re a hell of a team,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of Denver after the defeat.

“They’re defending champs for a reason, I’ve been saying it the entire year, and the entire series, they know how to gut out wins, they’ve been there before.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone meanwhile lavished praise on game-winner Murray, who had also nailed a buzzer-beater in Game 2 of the series.

“For Jamal to add to his playoff lore by having two game-winners in a series is just incredible,” Malone said.

“The kid’s a warrior man. I can’t say enough good things about Jamal Murray. The bigger the moment, the kid just continues to shine.”

Elsewhere Monday, the Oklahoma City Thunder sealed a 4-0 series sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans to book their place in the NBA playoffs second round.

Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City finally got the better of New Orleans with a late scoring burst in the fourth quarter to complete a 97-89 road victory in Louisiana.

The Pelicans led by five points with just over eight minutes remaining before Oklahoma City responded with an 18-2 run to close out victory in a hard-fought contest that saw the lead change hands 19 times.