Nikola Jokic led with 32 factors and 12 rebounds because the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 in an exhilarating Western Conference playoff opener.
Jamal Murray added a double-double with 22 factors and 10 assists, whereas Anthony Davis contributed 12 factors and 11 rebounds.
Despite LeBron James’ 27 factors and Anthony Davis’ 32 factors and 14 rebounds, the Lakers fell to the Nuggets for the ninth straight time.
The Nuggets’ decisive 13-0 run within the third quarter, fueled by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 12 factors, proved pivotal in securing the victory.
Porter excelled on the courtroom, as coach Michael Malone predicted he would, after a attempting week for his household that noticed one youthful brother, Coban Porter, sentenced to 6 years in jail for a deadly drunken driving crash on Friday and one other, former Toronto Raptors guard Jontay Porter, banned from the NBA for betting on basketball and disclosing confidential data to different bettors.
“There’s so much going on off the court for Michael Porter Jr. and his family,” Malone mentioned. “This permits him to get again to doing one thing not solely that he loves but in addition that he does very, very nicely.”
The Nuggets entered these playoffs with bull’s-eyes on their backs however supremely assured of their probabilities to repeat after tying a franchise report with 57 regular-season wins, 4 greater than final yr.
One signal of their looseness: Jokic, who’s starring in a teaser for “Despicable Me 4,” the place he seeks remedy as a result of the Minions suppose he is their boss, arrived at Ball Arena decked out in a black-and-gray striped scarf and grey pants, trying like Felonius Gru — the lead character from the film franchise.
James ought to have proven up dressed like Vector as a result of he performed the right villain for the sold-out crowd that drowned out the Lakers’ pregame introductions.
James ended a terrific first half by which he scored 19 factors with a 32-foot 3-pointer to interrupt a 57-all tie after the Lakers had blown a 12-point lead.
Denver’s 13-0 run within the third quarter threatened to make it a laugher because the Nuggets stretched their result in 15 within the fourth quarter. But James made two free throws, Davis had a three-point play, and Taurean Prince a basket to chop the Lakers’ deficit to 96-88 with 7:17 remaining.
The closest they acquired to the Nuggets, although, was at 103-96 earlier than Porter hit a 3 and Jokic had a dunk off a turnover by James to push Denver’s result in 12.
The Nuggets are looking for to turn into the primary crew to efficiently defend their NBA title for the reason that Golden State Warriors did it six years in the past.
Denver swept the Lakers in final season’s Western Conference finals, the next-to-last step the Nuggets needed to clear earlier than claiming their first NBA title.
The Lakers have not crushed the Nuggets since Dec. 16, 2022. They’ll attempt once more Monday evening in Game 2 at Ball Arena, the place Denver is now 34-8 this season.
James misplaced for simply the 18th time in 80 first-round video games. He misplaced a playoff opener for the third time in his six seasons with the Lakers, and fourth total. His crew additionally misplaced collection openers in Round 1 in 2018 (Indiana over Cleveland), 2020 (Portland over the Lakers), and 2021 (Phoenix over the Lakers).
Source: www.dailysabah.com
