A one-point game with 3 minutes left, then with 2 minutes to play, then Murray stole the ball from James, forcing LA into a time-out. With 90 seconds to go, A.D. hit a clutch corner 3PTer to notch the game at 118. Murray got a nice pick by Jabari Parker and slammed it past Klay to regain the lead.
Scrutinized for years, LeBron missed 1 of 2 at the free throw line after a foul, which led to Ingram's fast-break jam. A.D.'s tip-in forced the Spurs into a time-out of their own, and an exchange of missed opportunities followed until Klay Thompson barely missed a baseline J, prompting Murray up court to a trailing Ingram. The Slender-Man buried a clutch corner 3PT dagger with 47s left to play, 125-121. An excellent defensive close-out on a deadly Klay by Ingram forced Thompson into a smart pass down low down to Adams, who elevated but got the ball poked free by Fournier. Another fast-break blitz erupted once VanVleet hit a killer 3PT blow, pushing the lead to 7.
It was not to be, as Dejounte Murray poured his heart out for the Spurs: 46 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals. Brandon Ingram had 23 points, with Evan Fournier dropping 20 on the Lakers. VanVleet scored 17, with Drummond in charge down low with 10 boards.
The Lakers had 14 unforgivable turnovers, leading by only 4 and trailing by 10 at one point. The Spurs hit 15 threes, shooting just better enough to get a huge 3-1 advantage.
In the loss, LeBron had 24 points & 11 assists. Anthony Davis bounced back for 20 points & 8 rebounds. Steven Adams had 14 rebounds. Klay Thompson was hounded by the San Antonio defense, failing to be effective after his strong play so far this series.