"The Pepsi Center held its breath as Al Harrington tried to pull a Carmelo.

Harrington had been brilliant for Denver, but he couldn't make a fadeaway, 26-foot 3-point jumper in the finals ticks Friday night, and the Nuggets lost to the Lakers 93-89. (The Lakers made two free throws with 0.2 seconds left.)

"A 'stepback' is my favorite shot," said Harrington, who finished with a game-high 24 points. "I felt like it was going to go in."

But Harrington wasn't the first option.

On the final shot, Denver coach George Karl said: "We were trying to go to Ty (Lawson) in the gap and then try to find the 3 if it was open and find Nene (in the low post) if he was open. For an end-of-the-game situation, we got a fair release. I wouldn't have called it a fair shot. I wanted (the play) to be quicker. I would have wanted to get to the rim in four or five seconds."

Even so, Harrington led Denver's comeback. With a hand of fire, Harrington seared the net twice in a minute with 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, while Nuggets fans stood in their snow boots and cheered. The second cut the Lakers' lead to just one with 4:24 left. L.A. had led by eight in the fourth.

The Nuggets entered the night second in the Western Conference, trailing only division rival Oklahoma City, by three games. The Lakers, so often in the top couple of spots, were fifth."