(Basketball news) The Denver Nuggets took game 1 as they beat the Los Angeles Lakers 132-126 and took the series lead 1-0. For the Nuggets, Jokic recorded his sixth triple-double of these playoffs with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 as Jamal Murray scored 31 points while battling an ear infection. Caldwell-Pope scored 21 points against his former team. Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points and 10 boards and Bruce Brown added 16 points. For the Lakers, Anthony Davis had 40 points and 10 rebounds, and James finished with 26 points, 12 boards and nine assists while Austin Reaves chipped in 23 points. L.A.’s desperate fourth-quarter run nearly erased Denver’s 14-point cushion after three quarters.
With 258 combined points, it was the highest-scoring conference finals game that didn’t go to overtime since 1987. The match up between Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic lived up to its expectation as both the centers were crucial in this high scoring match. The Lakers need to step up their game especially in the first quarter as they have to get a result next match against the resurgent Nuggets, who are looking to win their first Western Conference trophy in their history.
“I feel like the only difference is Bron can jump higher than Jokic,” Caldwell-Pope declared after Jokic’s monster performance
“That’s really offensive,” Jokic replied in faux indignation about his athletic abilities. “I’m joking. I mean, to be compared to one of the best ever – or THE best ever – I think is really cool.”
“Yeah, it took us a half to get into the game,” James said, “and that was pretty much the ballgame right there. They punched us in the mouth to start. … I know the game is won in 48 minutes, but they set the tone in 24 minutes and we were playing catch-up for the next 24.”
“I’d rather clean things up after a win in the Western Conference finals than after a loss, so I will take it,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “But there is much work to do.”
“Thank God it’s the best-of-seven and it’s not the NCAA Tournament,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It’s the first to four. We’ll be OK, trust me.”
Also read: NBA: The Boston Celtics take game 7 after a Jayson Tatum master class
