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After the defensive ascension: Is LeBron "still amazing," or getting too much respect from the referees?

James arrested Jamal Marie in Money Time, but the NBA is not sure who gets the credit.

Anthony Davis calms down after the worrying injury, Michael Malone stings Frank Vogel, and also: the blind (and scary) understanding between LeBron and AD.

Summary of the night

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• Los Angeles Lakers

• LeBron James

• Denver Nuggets

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Friday, 25 September 2020, 09:07

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The Lakers are once again proving: We have everything it takes to win a championship.

The 108: 114 victory tonight (Thursday through Friday) over Denver that set up a 1: 3 win for them in the Western Finals, illustrated excellently why LeBron and his teammates look almost like the sure champions even before the final series kicks off.

After three tight and tense quarters, with another great rise from Jamal Marie, came the money time of the final quarter.

There, as in quite a few cases in the playoffs, the true superiority of the Purple-Yellows could be discerned: after the Nuggets were accurate on a high percentage from the field for three quarters (57%), the Lakers put up defensive gear, tightened the guard on Nikola Jukic and most importantly - passed LeBron Keep Marie, at James' request.

The result: only 7 of 21 for the Nuggets from the field (33%) in the last quarter, including 0 of 4 for Yukic and 3 of 7 for Marie.

"I knew it was money time, and Jamal was in the zone. I told the rest of the guys, it's about me," said James, who finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists about the moment he decided to take Marie as a personal project.

"He was special today, scoring big shots from everywhere. He's one of the hottest players in the bubble, so I had to trust my defense, the work I put in to learn Denver and Jamal. Happily, I managed to get some stops and my friends took the rebounds, which is The most important thing".

Even before the money time in the last quarter Marie scored a spectacular layup over LeBron, but in the moment of truth James was more determined and aggressive, and fittingly for a player in his position also enjoyed some friendly judgment, with two moves in which he could whistle offenses to his duty ended in nothing.

But for the Lakers, LeBron's defensive performance change seemed to be just right: LeBron's length and size made it less physical for Marie to produce shooting situations for himself, and ultimately the respect from the referees did the same.

"Nothing from our plan to limit him really worked. Until LeBron took on that task. Fortunately, even at his age he's still amazing," praised Lakers coach Frank Vogel, who said LeBron approached him on his own initiative and initiated the move in the final minutes.

More on Walla!

NEWS

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated Denver 108: 114 and went up 1: 3 in the series

To the full article

Supreme defense or help from the judges?

LeBron vs. Jamal Marie (Photo: GettyImages)

The Lakers also got cause for concern ahead of Game 5 on Saturday night: Anthony Davis, who again excelled on both sides of the court and finished with 34 points (10 of 15 from the field), sprained his left ankle during the final quarter, appeared to groan in pain but continued to play after a break short time.

"I twisted my ankle pretty badly, but not too badly. I feel just fine and will be fit for Game 5," AD reassured the Lakers at the end.

"Slowly I will feel better. I have tomorrow and the day after tomorrow to recover until the game."

On the other hand, Frank Vogel is a little worried.

"When it comes to such injuries, one should always be a little apprehensive," he said at the conclusion.

According to ESPN, the Lakers will take care of Davis during the day and only tomorrow will know how to assess whether he will be fit for Game 5. However, "by the way he finished the game tonight, they believe he will be fit."

Either way, with Davis and LeBron looking the way they did tonight, few teams are capable of challenging the Lakers, if at all.

According to ESPN, the Lakers have climbed to a 1:18 balance in games where James and Davis reach 60 points or more.

By comparison, this is the second-best balance ever of any duo in the NBA, with only Kobe and Shaquille set higher success rates (95%) in 2000.

"We feed each other. Sometimes I break it, and sometimes it breaks me," he said. Davis, and LeBron said the two have already developed a blind understanding - so much so that he manages to read it through the eyebrows, believe it or not.

"If his eyebrow is really low, I know he's in a bad mood and should not be talked to. If his eyebrow is higher, you can take him for a one - on - one conversation and talk," James said with a smile.

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Like Kobe and Shaq.

LeBron and Anthony Davis (Photo: GettyImages)

On the other hand, Denver is very disappointed. On the face of it, a 3-1 deficit is the “desired” result for the Nuggets: they have already come back from it in two different playoff series in a bubble, proving they never break. On the other hand, this time it might be big on them, certainly if the Lakers continue to get help from the referees, so to speak.

The Lakers, who complained about the refereeing in the previous game, came on their pay tonight: they came to penalties no less than 35 times, with LeBron scoring 11 of 14 and Anthony Davis finishing with 13 of 14. The Nuggets, on the other hand, got 23 shots and scored 20. "They got to the line 35 times. I think maybe we should go through the 'acceptable channels' as well, as they did (a sting to Frank Vogel, who said before the game that the Lakers are tackling refereeing problems through league inquiries "Maybe that's the way we get more free throws," Denver coach Michael Malone said at the conclusion.

Malone complained about the differences in judgment, especially when it came to Jamal Marie. According to the Denver coach, his star deserved to get a few whistles in money time, while LeBron kept him. "He penetrated the basket and made contact there, several times. We'll watch the replay and send it to the NBA, we'll make sure they notice it. Did the Lakers' appeal to the league make an impact or not? It's hard to say, but the NBA always does a good job of listening to claims. I hope that in the next game it will work in our favor as well. "

Jamal Marie also said "some offenses were committed against me that were not burned. It could be clearly seen in the replays. LeBron will get his respect, probably, but we have to move on. We are a younger team, and we have to learn from everything. We must earn the respect of the judges in order to jump another step. "

In Denver, there was also an implicit criticism of Michael Porter Jr., who once again remained on the bench in the crucial minutes. When Michael Malone was asked about his top five in the final minutes that did not include the young forward, he replied: "If you can not help us in the defense in the Western Conference final, you may not be on the pitch."

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