Whenever the Los Angeles Lakers lose, expect known LeBron James hater Skip Bayless to be there to take shots at The King. Of course, Bayless had an instant reaction to Los Angeles' brutal 101-99 loss to the reigning NBA champions Denver Nuggets Monday night in Mile High City, which was ended by Jamal Murray's buzzer-beating jumper over the outstretched arms of Anthony Davis.
Bayless, after the game, made sure to point out the missed 3-point attempt by James with under 20 seconds remaining in regulation and before Murray's shot that was heard around the world.
“PLEASE DON'T TELL ME LEBRON JAMES HAD A WIDE-OPEN UNGUARDED THREE TO WIN IT … AND MISSED IT … AND JAMAL MURRAY HAD A FALLAWAY CONTESTED BY ANTHONY DAVIS AT THE BUZZER … AND MADE IT!” Bayless posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Bayless did not stop there.
“DON'T TELL ME JAMAL MURRAY WENT FROM AS COLD AS I'VE SEEN HIM TO … SLAMMING THE DOOR SHUT WITH SOME OF THE CLUTCHEST CLOSING YOU'LL EVER SEE.”
Several minutes later, Bayless uploaded a video reaction to the wild game. Although he praised James for an excellent performance in the fourth quarter, Bayless still could not keep himself from bringing up James' missed shot from behind the arc which would have given the Lakers a three-point lead if it found the bottom of the net.
“Man, poor LeBron James. He just played finally a great fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets. He made those back-to-back threes. He stole the ball from Jamal [Murray] went down and dunked it over Jamal. He had a couple of great drives to the basket. He had an and-one fade away sideways against Jamal. He did it all until in the end, Bayless said.
“He fatefully winds up with a wide-open uncontested unguarded three. Make it, the Lakers win. Miss it, and better be careful. And he left it just a touch short, kissed off the front of the rim, bounced off the back of the rim. And here came Jamal Murray, best closer in basketball. Everything LeBron would love to be, and Jamal against Anthony Davis, Lakers' best defender, fakes to his right. Falls way along the baseline. Long arm of the law right in his face from AD. Swishes it at the buzzer. Poor LeBron.”
LeBron James' near triple-double wasted in painful Lakers loss to Nuggets
Unlike in Game 1, James played with an aggressive mentality on offense in the second half. In the final period, he scored 12 of the Lakers' 20 points and added three rebounds and a steal. Overall, James finished the game with a near triple-double of 26 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds to go along with two steals and two blocks in 38 minutes.
“20-point leads in this league is not safe, especially against the defending champion, James told reporters during the postgame press conference. We had our chances.”
Now, it's back to the drawing board for James and the Lakers, who still could not find an antidote to the Nuggets. The Lakers have been winless against Denver for quite some time now. In fact, they have faltered in each of the last 10 meetings overall versus the Nuggets. Needless to say, Game 3 will be ultra-crucial for Los Angeles, as no team in the history of the NBA has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Follow Us
Subscribe