Lakers 103-114 - Nuggets summary, stats, scores and highlights | NBA Playoffs Game 1
The Lakers ran out of steam towards the finish line and the Joker put the exclamation point on the win with his third dunk of the game. He ended the night with 32, 12 and 7 assists and wrapped up another home win which makes it 11 in their last 12 dating back to last postseason.
The Nuggets will defend their home court again on Monday night against a Lakers team that will try and steal a win on the road. Tip off to Game 2 is set for 10 PM from Ball Arena.
Murray ended the night with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists in another vintage playoff performance from a guy who is growing quite comfortable in big games.
Every time the Lakers seemed to try to make a run, Jokic was there to cut the rally short. Murray and Jokic got massive support from KCP and Michael Porter Jr. while LeBron and AD had to do it on their own. That proved costly in the second half as the Nuggets pull out to a 15 point lead.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had four threes on the night, all coming in the third quarter. He ended the night with 12 points on 4/10 shooting from downtown.
Denver cut into the Lakers lead in the first half but still trailed at halftime. They came out of the break and locked down LA's offense holding them to 18 points in the third quarter. Murray started the streaky shooting from downtown early in the corner and KCP followed.
Gordon may be past the point of competing for dunk contests at this stage of his career, but he will be more than happy competing for titles anyway. The high flyer showed he still has some hops and flirted with a triple double scoring 12, grabbing 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
Murray really got going in the second quarter and that seemed to wake the Nuggets up. They trailed by 8 at the end of the first 12 minutes but Murray fired a couple threes and Aaron Gordon had a huge slam to get Ball Arena off their feet of the first time in this year's playoffs.
We know how good this team can be when they are healthy and they are healthy at the perfect time. Jamal Murray had a minor scare after twisting his ankle late in the season, but he looks back to his best as the Nuggets prepare for another title run.
The Denver Nuggets began their postseason with a Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers as the two teams met in Ball Arena for a rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals. Nikola Jokic scored 32 points to help stretch the Nuggets playoff win streak over the Lakers to five games.
Jokic came out of the gate hot, scoring 12 points in the first half as him and LeBron went toe to toe in a battle of heavyweights. The Lakers lead by as many as 12 early in the game but once the Nuggets found their rhythm there was no stopping them.
IT'S ALL OVER!!
The Denver Nuggets take care of Game 1 at home with a 114-103 thanks to another brilliant playoff performance from Nikola Jokic.
James with the lay up at the buzzer and that's going to do it.
Jokic over the top and Murray is there for the slam on the alley oop!
AD and James missed four different put backs and Jokic finally got the rebound, ran the floor and jammed it for the exclamation point on this night in Denver.
Reaves drills a three ball out of the timeout, but is that coming too late for the Lakers?
Gordon follows up his own miss and tips it home!
Timeout Lakers with 2:37 to go.
Davis to the line after the foul on KCP and he hits both FTs.
James was picked by Jokic who races down the court and sort of slams it home. Might have barley grazed the rim.
Porter Jr. with a catch and shoot triple try from the wing and he's got 19 on the night.
Timeout Nuggets with 4:38 to go in the 4th quarter.
Reaves into the lane and he gets the floater to go and the foul! FT is good.
Jokic drills the three ball the top of the key and that's a huge just with 5:00 to go! He's got 28 points!
AD to the line after the foul on Jokic and he hits one of two FTs.
Jokic chases down the offensive rebound turns and puts it up quickly from the baseline.
Fader from the baseline and AD drills it from outside the lane.
Davis banging with Jokic and he hits the jump hook after some contact that didn't get called.
Murray breaks the Lakers 7-0 run with a tough runner in the lane.
Prince makes a dash to the cup in transition and finishes with a finger roll.
Timeout Nuggets with 7:17 to go.
Davis banging on the boards, he gets the put back to go AND 1! FT is good after the foul on Watson.
James to the line after the foul on Braun and he hits both FTs.
Braun to the rack and he lays it in after bobbling it on the way up.
Timeout Lakers with 9:08 to go in the fourth quarter.
Murray punches back with a step back three ball over AD in the corner!
Russell pump fakes, takes a dribble and pulls up from the top of the key for his first three of the night.
Murray backs Reaves down on the block, spins and scoops it up off the glass with he left hand.
WE ARE HEADED TO THE FOURTH QUARTER WITH THE NUGGETS UP BY 11!
LeBron hits Prince in the corner and he drills a much needed three!
Jokic into the lane and he hits the fader over a pack of Lakers in the paint.
`KCP with another triple from the top of the key and he's got four in the quarter! The lead is up to 12, the largest of the night for Denver.
Jokic with the rebound off the Porter block on Prince and he immediatley runs the break which leads to a KCP thee ball from the wing!
Timeout Lakers who are suddenly down nine with 3:16 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Jokic takes Hachimura into the paint off the dribble and hits the floater in the lane.
KCP was left open in the corner and he drills the three ball after getting the friendly roll!
LeBron with a drive on the left side, and he gets the runner to go AND 1! FT is no good.
Jokic cork screws in the lane and he gets it to fall off the front of the rim.
Hachimura to the line after the foul on Porter Jr. and he his both FTs.
Pick and roll with Murray to Jokic and that left Gordon open on the baseline for the alley oop slam!
Porter with a catch and release from three point range!
Davis with a quick dribble into the lane and he hits the runner over Jokic.
Jokic some how gets the hook shot to go over Davis off the glass.
LeBron goes to the rack and glides to the cup for the lefty lay up.
Gordon tip toes along the baseline and slings it to Murray in the corner for three!
We are all tied up and the Lakers need a timeout with 7:57 to go in third quarter.
AD was left wide open down low and James hit him on the alley oop!
Murray wiggles into the lane and gets the tear drop to fall.
Reaves pulls the trigger off the dribble and hits the three from the wing.
Porter stops on a dime and hangs in the lane for the one footed leaner off the glass.
Russell pulls up from the corner and hits the mid range J over Jokic.
KCP starts the third quarter with a three ball to tie the game up.
WE ARE BACK IN DENVER FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!
LeBron drills the deep three ball at the end of the half to send the Lakers to the locker room with a three point lead. He's got 19, 3 and 5 assist while Davis had 18 after two quarters.
The Nuggets were able to tie the game up in the second quarter, but never took the lead. Jokic has 15, 6 and 2 at the half, Porter Jr. has 11 and 5 and Gordon has 8, 5 and 3 in another complete game in the making.
Murray had two quick threes after the quarter change as the Nuggets went on an 8-0 run to close the gap.
Jokic has 11 in the first half, but the Nuggets started to make their comeback when everyone else started getting involved. Murray turned it on in the second quarter both passing and scoring the rock.
AD is in for a battle in this series, but he started off strong against Jokic and the Nuggets. He had 18 and 7 in the first half and helped the Lakers build a 12 point lead, but that would disappear in a hurry.
Anytime you see Jokic dunking, you know he's feeling himself. He had not one but two dunks in the first half.
You just had to know LeBron would come into Game 1 locked in. He set the tone early for his team scoring 12 points in the first quarter He entered the playoffs playing his best basketball and is starting the playoffs playing his best basketball.
WE ARE AT THE HALFTIME BREAK HERE FROM DENVER!!!
The Lakers are holding on to a narrow lead, but this is anyone's game in the 2nd half.
James sticks a 33 footer right before the buzzer sounds and he's got 19 in the first half!
Murray finds Porter on the baseline and he gets the reverse lay up to go.
James shakes off three defenders on his way to the cup and gets the finger roll to fall .
Porter lays up off after the slick pass from Jokic on the backdoor
Reaves on the pull up and jumper from inside the lane and the Lakers have the lead again.
Jokic with the offensive board this time and he puts it back up and in.
Hachimura on the catch and shoot from the elbow and the mid range J goes.
Gordon with another offensive rebound and he tips it in off the Murray miss.
Porter follows up the missed three from Murray and tips it up and in
Davis hits the boards hard and gets the put back slam to go following the miss from Russell.
Entry pass from Murray to Jokic and he his the leaner in the lane for his first points of the second quarte.r
Jokic intercepts the pass from LeBron and he finds Gordon who throws it down with a double clutch slam on the break!
Timeout Lakers with under 5:00 to go following and 8-0 run from the Nuggets.
Jackson was open in the corner and he strings the three ball after the dish from Gordon!
Porter drills a spot up three ball out of the timeout and the Nuggets needed that.
Jackson was picked off by James who takes it all the way for the steal and the slam!
Timeout Nuggets with 6:05 to go in the second quarter.
Davis off the dribble and he blows past Jokic for the lay up out of the timeout.
Timeout Nuggets with 6:40 to go in the half.
Gordon to the line after the foul on Vincent and he hits both FTs.
Davis to the line after the foul on Jordan and he hits both FTs.
Davis spins on the baseine and finishes the shot from outside the lane with the one handed jumper.
Prince drives and hangs in traffic to get the lay up go off the glass.
Murray drills another three ball, this time on the step back from the top of the key! He's got two in the quarter.
Davis to the line after the foul on Jordan and he hits both FTs.
Behind the back pass from Murray to Jordan who takes a dribble from outside the lane and slams it home.
Jordan to the line after the foul on Hayes and he hits both FTs.
AD with the step back from outside the lane.
Russell down the lane and he hits the floater over Jokic.
Murray start the quarter off with a three ball from the top of the key.
We are headed to the second quarter from Denver.
We expected to see LeBron and Jokic dominate and that's what they are doing here tonight.
LeBron has 12 points 3 rebounds and five assists already while Jokic has 11, and 3 rebounds.
LeBron to the line after the foul on Jackson and he hits both FTs. He's got 12 in the first quarter.
Jokic works the pick and roll with Jackson who hit him down the lane for the two handed jam.
Prince to the line after the foul on KCP and he hits both FTs.
Prince slashes to the bucket and LeBron found him for the lay up.
Jokic spins and hits the high arching jumper over LeBron in the lane.
Davis drills the spot up jumper from the FT line.
Timeout Lakers with under 3:00 to go.
Hachimura answers back by drilling a wide open three from the wing.
Watson in the corner and he drills a off the kickout from Murray.
Davis was cherry picking and Reaves found him for the two handed jam.
Watson with the offensive board and put back after LeBron blocked KCPs' lay up.
Murray with head of steam and he crosses over and slams it down the left side of the lane.
Jokic to the line after the foul on Russell and he hits one of two FTs.
Hachimura picks up the rebound and looks long for Russell who beat everyone down the court for the lay up on the break.
James drills a three ball, his second of the night and he's got 8 already!
Jokic hits the running floater down the lane off the front of the rim.
LeBron cutting along the baseline and Davis found him for the reverse.
Watson off the bench and on to the board with a three ball from the wing out of the timeout.
Timeout with 6:41 to go in the 1st quarter.
James flashes to the wing and drills the catch and shoot three ball off the dish from Russell.
Russell steps back from the FT line and hits the mid range J over KCp.
Porter goes right to the rack and lays it up and in.
Russell goes into the chest of Murray and finishes off the glass.
LeBron on the block and he backs his way to the bucket for the lay up.
Quick spin off the back down from Jokic and he gets the easy lay up to go.
Reaves with a tear drop down the lane after the dribble drive.
Davis puts the Lakers on the board with a slam, and boy does he have his work cut out for him in this series.
Gordon hits the runner on the baseline and gets the roll.
Guess who gets going here in Denver? It's Jokic with the finish down low off the dump down from Murray.
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM DENVER!
THe Lakers have their starting five healthy and ready for the first game of the playoffs in Denver. It's LeBron, and AD leading the charge but they are going to need big performances from Hachimura, Reaves and Russell tonight and all series.
Ball Arena Advantage
The Denver Nuggets finished second in the West at the end of the season which means they will have home court for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. If you remember back to last year you understand how important that is for the defending champions. They went 10-1 at Ball Arena in the playoffs on their title run last year, and our Svetozar Pavlovic might have the key to thier success at home.
The King back where he belongs
LeBron James has been sensational over the last couple games. What he has done all season has been remarkable at the age of 39, but he took it to a new level over the last two games against the Pelicans. He had 12 assists in the first quarter in the Lakers first win over New Orleans to wrap up the regular season. He would finish the game with a triple double on game 82 of his 21st season. He went back into New Orleans and almost dropped another triple double posting 23, 9 and 9 against one of the most imposing players in the league, who was having the night of his young career. James is averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebound and 8.3 assists this season, and if history repeats we can expect him to amplify those stats as we dive into the playoffs.
ThIrd MVP coming?
It’s playoff time, and just like in the regular season the Nuggets are going to ride their two time MVP to as far as he will take them. Obviously Nikola Jokic isn’t the only one the Lakers need to be worried about, as Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. only get better as the seasons go on. But come on, the Nuggets live and die with the performances of their show horse. Jokic is in the running to win his third MVP award after another incredible season in which he averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9 assists. If he were to win the award for a third time, he’d be the first center since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who won six MVPs.
Lakers last game
The Lakers won the final game of the regular season in New Orleans to set up another matchup against the Pelicans on the opening day of the Play-In Tournament. LeBron James and Zion Williamson went head to head in a clash of titans and Zion kept the Pels in the game until the very end. He had 40 and 11 rebounds before getting injured in the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. LeBron had 23, 9 and 9 as the Lakers led for most of the second half, but the Pels put up and fight in the fourth quarter to close the lead to one possession. D’Angelo Williams had the game winning shot drilling a three ball in the corner to push the Lakers through to the playoffs.
Nuggets last game
The Nuggets came into their title defense season with the bullseye on their back in a stacked Western Conference. They may not have dominated the pack like they did last season, but they were constantly in the mix for the one seed. Jokic had another MVP type season, and more importantly the Nuggets stars stayed healthy to set up another potential deep playoff run. In the end they settled for the second seed coming into the playoffs after ended the regular season with the same record as the Oklahoma City Thunder, but losing out on the tie breaker against the now one seed.
We are live from Denver
Hello everyone and welcome to the Mile High City where the Denver Nuggets are back in the playoffs, defending their title as the two seed in the West after another impressive season in a conference in which every team tried to stack the deck to knock off the champs. Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets held on until the final day of the season, and settled for the second seed which sets them up with a headline matchup with the LA. The Lakers look as though they are playing their best ball of the season at the right time and still have last year’s 4-0 series sweep at the hands of the Nuggets still fresh on their mind.
Game 1: Lakers vs Nuggets
The first round of the playoffs is upon us and there are juicy matchups all across the bracket in the Western Conference. Perhaps none are more mouthwatering than the rematch of last year’s Conference Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s LeBron vs. Jokic. It’s the defending champs against the winningest franchise in NBA history and AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s game from Ball Arena.