NBA: Denver 106, LA Lakers 103

LOS ANGELES, May 22 (UPI) -- Chauncey Billups hit three free throws in the final 14 seconds Thursday and Denver outfought the Los Angeles Lakers 106-103 to even their playoff series.

The Nuggets let what seemed to be a certain victory slip away in the opening contest of the Western Conference finals, but rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second game to grab home-court advantage.

Denver will have a chance to take the series lead Saturday when the Nuggets host Game 3.

The Lakers held a 41-27 advantage midway through the second quarter, but the Nuggets rallied to within one at the break and still trailed by one going into the fourth quarter.

In a physical game that saw the teams combine to take 72 foul shots, Denver grabbed the lead for good on a Kenyon Martin layup with 32 seconds remaining.

A steal by Nene with 15 seconds left put Denver in control and Billups hit two free throws with 14 seconds to go for a 105-101 lead.

Pau Gasol made a pair of foul shots to bring the Lakers within two with 8 seconds left, after which Derek Fisher fouled Billups with 4 seconds remaining.

Billups missed his first try from the line, but made the second to finish with 27 points. Given a chance to force overtime, the Lakers had to settle for a closely-guarded 3-point attempt at the buzzer by Fisher, which did not come close.

Carmelo Anthony scored 34 for the Nuggets and again engaged in a start-to-finish shoving match with Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.

Bryant had 32 points while making 10-of-20 shots from the field and all 10 of his free-throw attempts. Gasol claimed 17 rebounds for Los Angeles, but Fisher hurt his team by making just 1-of-9 field-goal tries.