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LeBron James had a terrible fourth quarter in the LA Lakers' sorry loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. The four-time MVP missed all six of his three-pointers, including three in the final period.
James also banked a shot too hard late in the game and allowed Bruce Brown to strip him off the ball in the dying seconds.
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.
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.
Before the late-game miscues, "LBJ" also blew a wide open dunk that stunned the Ball Arena crowd:
LeBron James' has just been terrible from deep in the playoffs
LeBron James shot 32.1% from behind the arc in the regular season. That has dropped to 22% in the playoffs. He 0-10 in the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. James was 0-4 in Game 1 and 0-6 in Game 2.
Since the fourth quarter of Game 2 against the Memphis Grizzlies, "King James has now missed 19 straight three-pointers.
"LBJ" is a career 33.1% from behind the arc in the playoffs. The LA Lakers are not losing hope that he will get his flow back and at least hit is average.
Contributing to James' struggles from three-point distance against the Nuggets is probably the effort he has to play on defense. He had to chase Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. for most of Game 1. The 38-year-old veteran may not have his legs during the crucial stages of the game.
LeBron James also did a solid job in Game 2 in trying to contain Nikola Jokic. When Rui Hachimura is not on the floor, it has been the four-time champ's job to defend the burly and physical seven-footer.
On several occasions in the fourth quarter, the Denver Nuggets played pick-and-roll to switch James onto Jamal Murray. Denver's point guard who exploded for 23 points in the final period, repeatedly got separation from James to shoot from outside or drive.
LeBron James' impact isn't limited to his three-pointers. But with him being a liability from deep, Denver's defenders have only become more daring to pack the paint.
