Having slumped to a 3-0 series deficit in a raft of tight games, the Lakers bounced back to win game four 119-108.
Back on home court for game five, they were on track for back-to-back wins to keep their season alive when they led by nine points midway through the third quarter.
But Denver roared back with a 21-10 run to close the quarter up by two and set up a tense finish.
Then Jamal Murray – a game-time decision to play after suffering a calf strain the prior game – sealed the win with a sensational late explosion.
Murray drained a three-pointer with just over a minute remaining for Denver to lead 106-104 before two James free throws levelled the score.
But Murray, having already hit a buzzer-beater this series, booked Denver’s place in a Western Conference semi-final against Minnesota with a clutch pull-up jumper with 3.6 seconds to play.
Out of timeouts, the Lakers’ hopes rested on Taurean Prince’s desperate half-court heave to beat the buzzer. But it fell wayward as the reigning NBA Champions secured a 4-1 series win.
“This one’s a little better,” he smiled. “I’m speechless. It’s a dream come true.”
Speaking about playing despite the injury, he revealed he played despite team medicos advising him to sit.
“I’m not going to leave my brothers out there,” he said. “I’m not sitting. I don’t care what it is we have to figure out.”
Jokic called it a ‘tough game’, adding of the series win: “We didn’t make a lot of shots, but we created open shots and we trust each other and that’s the reason why we’re winning”.
Nikola Jokic started slow and made an unusually-high seven turnovers, but finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Junior added 26 points.
James led the Lakers with 30 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists, while Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 boards but appeared troubled by a shoulder niggle late in the game after a collision with Porter Jr.
The Lakers made just 10-35 from beyond the arc (28.6%) and shot just 18-27 from the charity stripe (66.7%), both well below the Nuggets.
The defeat could signal the end of James’s time in Los Angeles.
Since winning the 2020 title in the so-called Covid-19 ‘bubble’ season, the Lakers have now lost in the first round of the playoffs twice, missed the playoffs once, and been swept in the Western Conference Finals – a dismal failure for the NBA heavyweights.
The 2021 series loss to the Phoenix Suns was the only other time James had lost in the first round of the playoffs, and that came in six games, meaning this year was the worst Playoffs performance of James’ career.
The 39-year-old Lakers star has a $51.4 million USD player option for next year, but has been wishy-washy at best around the topic all season.
After the defeat, James was asked if he had considered whether it was his last game with the Lakers.
James replied “Uh, I’m not going to answer that,” before ending the press conference.
His desire to play with son Bronny could be the deciding factor in whether he remains at the Lakers or finds a new home.
“I’m on the other side, obviously, of the hill, so I’m not gonna play another 21 years. That’s for damn sure.” James said in March. “I don’t know when that door will close as far as when I’ll retire. But I don’t have much time left.”
Whether he’ll spend it in Los Angeles will be one of the biggest questions of the off-season.
Respected NBA journalist Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said before the game: “If you are a head coach of the Lakers and you get swept in the first round of the playoffs or you lose in five, you’ve got job security issues. And Darvin Ham will have that.
“I think that despite the fact he went to the Western Conference Finals last year, he won more games this year, 47 in the regular season when they were without Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent for most of it.”
He added: “Is it fair for Darvin Ham to lose his job? But if they get swept or lose in five, it is part of the conversation the Lakers are gonna have.”
In many ways, the Lakers’ early exit only emphasised the changing of the guard that these playoffs have already advertised.
Kevin Durant was swept in the first round, James lost in five, and Stephen Curry didn’t even make it out of the Play-In Tournament.
That trio has dominated the NBA for much of the last two decades, but this year’s Playoffs have been ruled by the next generation.
CELTICS CRUSH MIAMI… BUT COP MAJOR BLOW
Elsewhere, Derrick White scored 38 points as the top-seeded Boston Celtics dominated Miami 102-88 on the road to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series.
After a 20-point win over Miami in game three Saturday, Boston picked up where they left off with another emphatic performance over last season’s Eastern Conference champions.
White set the tone for Boston with an electric first-quarter display, rattling in 16 points in the opening frame — including four three-pointers — to help the Celtics take a 10-point lead heading into the second quarter.
Boston kept up the pressure to open up a 53-36 halftime advantage.
The Celtics stretched the lead to 28 points at one stage in the third quarter, and even though Miami rallied in the fourth, narrowing the deficit to 13 points with just over five minutes remaining, Boston’s grip on the lead never looked in serious jeopardy.
But there was a major concern as star center Kristaps Porzingis limped to the locker room in the second quarter in visible pain, holding his jersey over his face after a non-contact lower leg injury.
The win means the Celtics can clinch their place in the second round, where they will face either Orlando or Cleveland, with a victory in game five Wednesday back in Boston.
On Monday’s evidence, few would bet against Boston bringing the series to a swift conclusion.
“I made a couple of shots early and that always helps,” White said of his career-high playoff scoring performance.
“Once you’ve made a couple the basket looks huge. I just wanted to be aggressive and try to make the right play every time I was on the court.” White insisted Boston would take nothing for granted as they attempt to close out the series in front of their home fans.
“It’s going to be a tough game five. We know they ain’t going away so we’ve got to be ready to go,” White said.
