DENVER — The collapse ended with a punch to the face, a blow to the ears, a dagger through the heart.
The collapse of a million Laker mistakes ended with one Denver Nuggets masterpiece, the ugliness of pretenders trumped by the beauty of champions.
Jamal Murray hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, Ball Arena shook with an avalanche of glee, Anthony Davis fell backward into the Denver bench in desperation, and it was over.
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This game. This nightmare. This series?
On a night they held a dominant 20-point lead in the third quarter against a dormant Nuggets team that finally appeared on the verge of vulnerability, it was the Lakers who folded, the Lakers who wilted, the Lakers who disappeared.