A late rally from Jamal Murray helped the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-103 to go 2-0 up in the Western Conference Finals series.Murray scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, including four three-pointers from five attempts. Denver are now just two wins away from securing a first appearance in the NBA Finals. "We did what we were supposed to do - we protected our home court," said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. "Now we have to go to LA with a very businessman-like mindset."

Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who inspired the Nuggets to victory in game one, added 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists. LeBron James and Austin Reaves scored 22 points in reply for the Lakers, who put in an improved performance after a slow start in the series opener to lead 53-48 at half-time. They led by 11 points during the third quarter, before Murray's late exploits dragged the game back into Denver's favour.

"I was just locking in," Murray told ESPN. "I missed some really good looks in the first half, but my team told me to keep shooting and I was getting the looks I wanted. We knew they would fall. The good thing is that I didn't stop shooting. The team stayed on me." The best-of-seven series moves to Los Angeles for game three on Saturday and game four on Monday.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP