LeBron James endured a challenging fourth quarter during the LA Lakers’ disappointing defeat to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
The four-time MVP had a tough time finding his rhythm, missing all six of his three-point attempts, with three of them coming in the crucial final period.
In addition, James struggled with a shot that rebounded off the backboard too forcefully in the closing stages of the game. To compound matters, he faced a defensive setback as Bruce Brown managed to strip him of the ball in the dying seconds.
camera man following around Lebron after the lost is crazy 😭 pic.twitter.com/rBV0yxeqpa
— ryan 🤿 (@scubaryan_) May 19, 2023
It was an uncharacteristically difficult performance for LeBron James, highlighting the tough circumstances he faced during the game, contributing to the Lakers’ loss.
Skip Bayless quickly pounced on his poor display with this: “LeBron James: no clutch gene.”
The Fox Sports analyst has been harping on James’ supposedly inability to come up big time. He has often reminded basketball fans that the 19x All-Star is no match to Michael Jordan when it comes to clutch situations.
"Thank you!"
— ESPN (@espn) May 19, 2023
A fan gave LeBron a towel after his drink accidentally spilled on him 😅 pic.twitter.com/3UiOeQmTol
James, of course, has had several game-winners and buzzer-beaters in his career in the playoffs. He just couldn’t get it done in the fourth quarter in Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets.
“King James,” who is usually deadly within point-blank range missed a layup when the score was 103-99 in favor of Denver. James’ miss led to two free throws for Jamal Murray who extended the Nuggets’ lead to 105-99.
With the Nuggets leading 108-103, the Lakers desperately pushed the ball up court with 12.6 seconds left in the game. James, however, lost the ball to Brown, which sealed the game for Denver and a 2-0 lead in the conference finals.
The Lakers lost by five points.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) May 19, 2023
LeBron left six very gettable points on the board at the rim tonight with three very uncharacteristic misses. pic.twitter.com/35ctU1xFgU