International Courant
In a repeat of final season’s Western Convention finals, Denver gained Sport 1 towards the Los Angeles Lakers.
The defending champion Denver Nuggets, powered by 32 factors from Nikola Jokic, shook off a sluggish begin to defeat LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 in recreation one among their first-round NBA playoffs.
The Nuggets, who swept the Lakers within the Western Convention finals on their solution to their first title in 4 video games final season, continued their dominance in star-studded Los Angeles on Saturday.
Jokic added 12 rebounds and 7 assists, Jamal Murray added 22 factors with 10 assists and Michael Porter Jr scored 19 for the Nuggets, who used a 13-0 scoring run to take the lead within the third quarter – wherein they restricted the Lakers as much as 18 factors.
James scored 32 factors and grabbed 14 rebounds and Anthony Davis added 27 for the Lakers, who minimize a 15-point deficit to 6 early within the fourth quarter earlier than permitting the Nuggets to tug away.
Jokic’s solely three-pointer of the sport pushed the Nuggets’ result in 103-93. He added a dunk on James, who took a tough fall with a minute left however stayed within the recreation till the bitter finish.
“The mentality needed to change,” Jokic mentioned of the Nuggets’ third-quarter resurgence. “I believe the protection was nice within the second half.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham mentioned the Nuggets’ 15-6 superiority in offensive rebounding was essential as Denver collected 18 second-chance factors.
“You may’t permit them to get a number of possessions,” mentioned Ham, who added he nonetheless believed the best-of-seven sequence, which resumes on Monday, might be a “hard-fought” affair.
The sport was the finale of the primary day of the playoffs, wherein the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-95, the New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 111-104 and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 97- 83 defeated.
Defending NBA champion Denver beat LeBron’s Lakers 114-103 in playoff opener | Basketball Information
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