LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Getty Images, Matthew Stockman)
The battle of the stars promised, and delivered: Denver rose to a 0-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday after beating the Los Angeles Lakers 126-132 in Game 34, after a terrific offensive display by both teams and their stars that makes you want to go ahead.
Denver enjoyed an excellent night for its standout players: Nikola Jokic recorded a huge triple-double, finishing with 12 points (17-of-3 from the field, 3-of-21 from three), 14 rebounds and 31 assists. Jamal Murray was also excellent, scoring 12 points (20-of-4 from the field, 8-of-21 from three), Contavius Caldwell-Pope scored 16, Bruce Brown added 55, and Denver won thanks to a night of 47 percent from the field and 30 percent from three, in a game in which it dominated the rebounding throughout (47:132) and scored <> points with a fluent offense that the Lakers couldn't solve.
Denver Nuggets player Nikola Jokic vs Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Getty Images, Matthew Stockman)
Anthony Davis scored 40 points for the Lakers in another dominant night (14-of-23 from the field, 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, 10 rebounds), LeBron James finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists but recorded two misses in the final minute, and Austin Reaves contributed 23 points and 8 assists, helping get the Lakers back in the game after nearly erasing a double-digit lead in the final quarter.
The Nuggets started stronger, taking a 19-34 lead in the first quarter. By the third quarter, the gap was 20 points, with the hosts leading 58-78. Every time the Lakers got a little closer, Denver players hit threes and maintained the advantage.
With 5:11 to go, the Nuggets looked in control as they took a 112-124 lead, but the Lakers began to chip away at the advantage, aided by a string of fouls and free throws, and two threes by Austin Reaves cut the lead to 127-124 with 2:18 remaining. But it was then that LeBron couldn't get his team back in the game. With 45 seconds left, 129:126 behind, LeBron missed a three-pointer that could have equalized, then lost a shot 18 seconds into the end, and 9 seconds into the end, with the Lakers already 132:126 behind, missed a final attempt on a three, a miss that sealed the story.
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- Los Angeles Lakers
- Denver Nuggets