NBA: Jamal Murray buzzer beater saves Denver Nuggets against LA Lakers, NY Knicks rally late to beat Philadelphia 76ers

Down at one stage by 20 points, the Denver Nuggets produced a champion performance as a Jamal Murray buzzer beater completed a dramatic comeback as they stunned the LA Lakers 101-99 on Monday and took a 2-0 lead in the first-round match-up.

Having won the first game, the Nuggets were looking to double their lead in Denver before the series moves to Los Angeles.

But they struggled, with Anthony Davis running rampant with a 32-point night and LeBron James adding a further 26.

The Nuggets led briefly early on at 5-3 and then didn't lead again until the end, with the Lakers at one stage as much as 20 points up when it was 68-48 early on in the second.

However, the champs kept plugging away at the lead and with the game tied at 99-99 and 16 seconds remaining on the clock, James missed a lay-up.

Michael Porter Jr grabbed the rebound and then Murray took over. With Davis guarding him, he took on the challenge and produced a beautiful step back winner to give the Nuggets their 10th consecutive win over the Lakers.

"I don't have a 20-point play," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after the game was over.

"You've got to just keep chipping away."

On a night where all the top seeds moved to 2-0 up in their series, it was also particularly tight in New York, where the Knicks rallied late to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-101.

When Kyle Lowry split a pair of free throws with 47.3 seconds to go on the clock, the 76ers had a five-point lead.

But the lead evaporated as Jalen Brunson watched a 3-point effort bounce in before Donte DiVincenzo landed a triple of his own at the second attempt.

However it wasn't as simple as that, with the 76ers left frustrated that their calls for a timeout weren't heard.

"Well, the first thing is obviously they score," Philly coach Nick Nurse said after the game.

"We take a look at getting it in quick. We don't get it in quick. I call timeout. Referee looked right at me. Ignored me. Went into Tyrese, I called timeout again. Then the melee started.

"I guess I got to run out onto the floor or do something to make sure and get his attention, but I needed a timeout there to advance it. Would've been good.

"But, couldn't get it."

There was also frustration from the 76ers about a perceived foul on Tyrese Maxey that wasn't called.

"Everybody was trying to call a timeout on the floor," 76ers superstar center Joel Embiid said. "Me included. Coach on the sideline. But they didn't give it to us.

"But, forget about the timeout. There's a bunch of fouls. That's f****** unacceptable."

Embiid sent a message to the 76ers fans afterwards.

He said: "We're good, we're going to win this series. We are going to win this. We know what we got to fix. We did a better job today, so we are going to fix it.

"We are the better team. We are going to keep fighting."

However, he reiterated his anger at the officiating when asked if he felt he needed to say anything to Maxey about the incident.

"No," Embiid said. "He did his job. That's on the league. That's on the NBA. That's on the frigging referees. I hate to put the game on them. But I am sure the 2-minute report is going to come out and we are going to see what happened.

"But like I said, that's unacceptable. That's not on him. That's not on any of us. We fought for 47 minutes and whatever 20 seconds. For that to happen... that's not OK."

The series now returns to Philadelphia as the 76ers desperately look to get on the board.

In the other game of the night, the Cleveland Cavaliers moved to 2-0 in their series against the Orlando Magic with a 96-86 win.

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