EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Another playoff game was there for the Los Angeles Lakers’ taking, yet again.

They exchanged body blows with the defending champions, as they had throughout their first-round playoff series, but their season ended because of more last-second heroics from Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.

Murray’s go-ahead pull-up jumper with 3.6 seconds left was good enough for the Nuggets to beat the Lakers, 108-106, and win their Western Conference series, 4-1, Monday in Denver.

It was an abrupt end to a Lakers season that featured some memorable moments but ended well short of an 18th NBA championship.

The Lakers held leads of at least nine points in all five games against Denver but won only once.

“It’s tough. It’s frustrating,” Lakers forward Anthony Davis said. “We put ourselves in position to win every game in this series. Didn’t pull out some wins we felt like we should have.”

Game 5 was more of the same, unfortunately for the Lakers. They were oh-so close — but not close enough.

After Two LeBron James free throws tied the score, Murray drove past Austin Reaves and scored from 14 feet. Taurean Prince was well short on a desperation three-point heave near half-court as time expired and the Lakers’ season was finished.

Murray also sunk the Lakers with a last-second shot to help Denver overcome a 20-point deficit and win Game 2 of the series.

“To add to his playoff lore by having two game-winners is just incredible,” Denver coach Michael Malone said.

The loss opened the door to lots of off-season questions for the Lakers.

First and foremost, will coach Darvin Ham be back? He guided the Lakers to the West finals last season as a rookie head coach but managed only one playoff victory this season.

“I’ve seen a lot in my first two years in this seat. I’ll continue to work and get better and control what I can control,” Ham said.

Ham thought he knew the No. 1 thing the Lakers lacked this season: an inability to stay healthy.

“You take a lot of flak for your rotations and all of that but rotations are secondary. The primary [reason] is health,” Ham said.

Defensive stopper Jarred Vanderbilt played only 29 games because of separate heel and foot injuries. Gabe Vincent, the Lakers’ big free-agent acquisition last summer, played only 11 regular-season games because of a knee injury.

On the other hand, Davis missed only six games and James only 11. Austin Reaves played all 82 games while backcourt mate D’Angelo Russell played 76.

Another big-picture question was James’ next step.

He’ll turn 40 in December but declined to look too far into his future Monday. He holds a player option for $51.4 million next season and must decide whether to exercise it by late June.

“I just want to get home to the family,” James said when asked about his future, quickly detailing the basketball activities of his three kids this summer. He declined to answer a follow-up question about whether he’d played his last game with the Lakers.

James was outstanding statistically this season, averaging a team-high 25.7 points to go with 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds.

He scored 30 points and added 11 assists in 44 minutes Monday. The Nuggets, as James could attest, were just too good to beat.

“You tip your hat to them. Defending champions, super great team,” James said. “Super well-coached… and they made the plays down the stretch to win this series.”

The Lakers’ other pillar, Davis, scored 16 points in the first half and was presumably on his way to another strong outing. Then he collided with Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. in the key while the Lakers had the ball with 10:53 left in the third quarter.

Davis crumpled to the court and held his neck and left shoulder areas. The Lakers led at the time, 56-50. Davis scored only one point in the second half and took only one shot while trying not to use his left arm.

“I guess it’s like a little stinger,” Davis said. “I just lost function, some feeling from my neck all the way to my hand.”

Murray finished with 32 points for the Nuggets, who play red-hot Minnesota in the next round. MVP candidate Nikola Jokic had 25 points and 20 rebounds.

In the end, Ham encapsulated the difference between the Lakers and Denver.

“They know how to get their wins,” he said.