Lakers Final Score: Nikola Jokic, Nuggets Beat LA 132-126 In The Mile High City
That was a bit of a whirlwind!
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals is in the books, and though the ultimate result (a Denver Nuggets win over your Los Angeles Lakers) may not be what you want, the game itself could actually be read as being far more encouraging for LA's chances as this series continues.
What had looked for a while to be a potential Nuggets rout over the Lakers turned into an incredibly close nail-biter down the home stretch, thanks to some fascinating second half defensive wrinkles and some late-game scoring heroics from LeBron James and Austin Reaves (the two-way play of Anthony Davis, as usual, was the headline for LA).
The Nuggets capitalized on that Denver altitude edge early on, starting off red-hot in the contest's opening quarter. Late in the first period, Denver had carved out a 15-point edge over Los Angeles. After Michael Malone subbed out Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, the Lakers outscored the Nuggets 6-3 to close out the half down "just" 12, 37-25.
You could tell early on that both of LA's stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were very much fully engaged from the jump, as James was busting out a vintage chase down block on reserve Nuggets guard Bruce Brown in the first quarter:
But it was still no match for the Nuggets' well-balanced offensive arsenal. The Nuggets shot 50% from the field in the opening quarter, and had five players score over five points in that frame. Los Angeles, conversely, had two in the same timeline. Guess the two.
At the end of that first period, Jokic already had eight points, 12 (!) rebounds, five assists and two blocks. The 6'11", 284-pound two-time MVP known affectionately by fans as "Big Honey" is somehow an underrated passer. Watch him swing the rock to a cutting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope after finding himself in double coverage on the right block:
The Nuggets took their biggest lead of the first two quarters, 18 points, at the halftime break with a heartbreaking Jamal Murray pull-up triple with 1.7 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Denver led Los Angeles by a mile, 72-54, powered by Jokic's 19 points (on 70% shooting), 16 rebounds, seven dimes and two rejections, plus 17 points from Murray. The Lakers as a team had fewer boards (13) than Jokic did. Denver collectively out-rebounded Los Angeles - in the first half. LA, who shot itself in the foot a bit with a three-guard starting lineup (guard Dennis Schroder started over power forward Jarred Vanderbilt) had particular trouble cleaning the defensive glass against the jumbo-sized Nuggets.
Midway through the third quarter, things were feeling like a veritable coronation for Denver in general and Jokic in particular, with the Nuggets having carved up LA for a 21-point lead, 93-72, at the 5:24 mark.
Late in the frame, Los Angeles went on an 11-2 run to climb back into the game and shave the Nuggets' lead to a more beatable 11 points, 103-92... until Nikola Jokic hit a buzzer-beating desperation triple off the bounce as time expired on a possession:
Ultimately, LA had outscored Denver 38-34 in the period, inching a bit closer heading into the fourth, but still trailing by double digits, 106-92.
With Nikola Jokic (and thus Anthony Davis) on the bench to open up the fourth quarter, the Lakers quickly got to work trying to condense Denver's advantage.
A LeBron James three-point play with Jamal Murray covering him (and Bruce Brown sort of half-helping) got the Lakers back to within 11 points, 106-95. Murray then responded with another desperation heave of his own to help build up Denver's lead.
LA transitioned to more of a switching defensive coverage while Jokic sat, which helped fluster the Nuggets enough to goose the Lakers' offense. An Austin Reaves trey got LA within eight points, 108-100. LA also made a point to get Murray stuck on the roll man in pick-and-roll actions, much the same way that James targeted Stephen Curry in pick-and-rolls during the end of LA's Warriors series.
When Jokic did return, reserve Los Angeles power forward Rui Hachimura had been switched onto him defensively in the fourth, while Davis was shifted onto Aaron Gordon and James onto Michael Porter Jr.
The Lakers went on a 9-0 run to cut the Nuggets' lead to just three points, its lowest since the first half, with 3:26 remaining in regulation. Attendant referees proved helpful here, whistling Jokic for his fourth foul and Murray for his fifth. This Austin Reaves triple put the exclamation point on that stretch:
Denver responded promptly with some key MPJ free throws and an Aaron Gordon dunk -- until an Austin Reaves triple got LA within three again.
The game was subsequently back-and-forth down the stretch, but the Nuggets did just enough to stave off what was looking to be an absolutely bonkers late-game Lakers comeback.
I know it's sacrilege to say this, but LeBron James just might be responsible for the Lakers coming up just short. After playing efficiently for most of the night and trying to generally curtail his weird inclination to chuck awkward triples in these playoffs, he fell apart in the game's final minute. First, with Los Angeles trailing 129-126, he rushed yet another early-in-the-shot clock pull-up three-point attempt which would have tied the game. Davis had to quickly foul Jokic to stop the shot clock at the 26-second mark.
James then got tangled up while scrambling for a drive inside, and lost the ball while being covered by Jokic and Murray in the lane. When Jokic split his subsequent free throws (again necessitated by LA's need to stop the clock), LA found itself down by two possessions with 10 seconds left, technically still in it but needing a bit of a miracle. James, who evidently did not read the scouting report on himself pregame, did not deliver that miracle, forcing up a terrible, half-hearted LeBron James three-point whiff with nine seconds remaining that essentially sealed the bout for Denver. The final margin: Denver 132, Lakers 126.
Davis actually led all scorers tonight, notching 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the floor and 11-of-11 shooting from the foul line, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks. Guarding Jokic proved a bit daunting for him, and because he's not much of an outside shooter (although he did make a wide-open left corner three tonight), he doesn't bring Jokic out of the post much when the Nuggets are defending. But assuming this Hachimura-on-Jokic approach (supplemented by Jarred Vanderbilt) is here to stay, that could free up AD a bit on that end of the court, allowing him to be a bit more of a rover in the paint, deflecting layups and floaters and generally spooking smaller wings a bit from drives.
James finished one assist shy of a triple-double, with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor and 8-of-11 shooting from the charity stripe, 12 rebounds, nine dimes and one block. Austin Reaves, despite being whistled for five fouls, was one of LA's two role players who stepped up next to the two starts tonight, notching 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting (5-of-9 from deep), eight assists, and two boards. Hachimura was the other role player who shouldered a significant scoring burden, scoring 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor off the bench while playing surprisingly competent defense against Jokic.
Schröder barely took a shot, getting just six points on 2-of-3 shooting from the floor. Starting point guard D'Angelo Russell submitted a Bad D-Lo Game, after having a terrific showing in LA's Game 6 closeout against the Warriors last Friday. He poured in just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting from the floor (0-for-3 from long range) and had three assists in just 26:08. Ham yanked him late in favor of Schröder, a much better defender. He was a game-worst -25 in his minutes on the floor.
On the other end, Jokic was absolutely dominant. He scored 34 points while shooting just 12-of-17 from the floor (3-of-3 from deep) and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. He also had 21 (!) rebounds, 14 assists, and, surprisingly, two blocks. There were moments where Jokic was making circus shots so bonkers, even with Anthony Davis (one of the league's premiere defenders when healthy) in his jersey, that AD couldn't help but grin.
That's not to say that Davis didn't have some nice defensive moments against the two-time league MVP, as in the first segment of this clip (from early in the second quarter).
Murray had a comparatively quiet 31 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals -- still a superlative night. Ex-Laker KCP had 21. Seven Nuggets scored in double digits.
The Nuggets are now 7-0 at Ball Arena. To win this series, the Lakers will need to steal a road victory. It's pretty clear that Darvin Ham gravely miscalculated by starting Dennis Schröder, who proved effective against a much smaller Golden State Warriors club in the last round in a three-guard lineup, but just hurts the club's efficacy against these huge Nuggets. The 6'8" Hachimura should probably be elevated into the starting lineup over Schroder for this series.
Strangely, both teams converted their field goals at similarly effective rates, but the Lakers' massive size deficiency (and some lucky buzzer beaters from Denver) helped the Nuggets pad their shooting numbers, taking seven more buckets in the game. Denver went 50-of-91 (54.9%) from the floor, while LA shot "just" 46-of-84 (a still-great 54.8%). The Nuggets' 47-30 (!) rebounding edge was the really difference in the game, which helped beget all those extra shot attempts.
LA's defensive moxie, along with the two-way greatness of Davis and James (dubious late-game decision-making aside for the latter), plus a little scoring punch and some size, proved that the team has a real chance to pull off a series upset for the third straight round. The Lakers had a real opportunity to steal this game late (abetted a bit by some questionable foul calls, but still). Let's see if they can pull it off on Thursday in Game 2.
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