Jamal Murray nailed a last-gasp jump shot as the defending champion Denver Nuggets sent LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers crashing out of the NBA playoffs with a series-clinching 108-106 victory on Monday.

Murray's sublime go-ahead bucket with four seconds remaining settled another pulsating battle between the Western Conference rivals and wrapped up a 4-1 series win for Denver, who now face Minnesota in the next round.

Murray finished with 32 points while team-mate Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers' bid to overturn a 3-0 series deficit came up short in front of 19,861 fans at Denver's Ball Arena.