What a crazy game this was. The Denver Nuggets somehow almost lost a shootout against the Lakers despite being up by over 20 points by halftime, but still managed to eke out a 136-129 victory to go up 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals.
This game should never have been this close.
The Denver Nuggets took their first step towards the team’s first ever NBA Finals appearance as they won a thrilling 136-129 shootout over the Los Angeles Lakers…even though they were up by 21 points at the start of the 3rd quarter. Still, even though the Nuggets looked really disjointed in that 2nd half, I think they’ve got the right formula to win this series against the Lakers.
Even though the Nuggets almost had one of the worst playoff chokes of all-time mainly due to head coach Mike Malone’s unwillingness to adjust, I really do believe they have the winning formula to defeat this Lakers team.
That first half was utterly electric from the Nuggets offense as they not only scored an astonishing 72 points and open an 18-point lead (which they ballooned to 21 early in the 3rd quarter), but they also were hitting every shot they took.
Whether it was a midrange jumper, a simple layup, a corner three, an alley-oop, or a desperation 3-pointer in the face of Anthony Davis with just a few seconds left in the quarter (I still don’t know how Jokic hit that shot), it went in for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets ended up scoring 50-91 of their FG attempts (54.9%) and 15-32 of their 3-pointers (46.9%), while five players scored at least 16+ points and every player but Jeff Green (3 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST) scored double digits. And, as one might have expected, the rightful MVP lead the way for the Nuggets as Nikola Jokic was simply unstoppable. And I mean that literally.
Jokic scored yet another Triple-Double as he posted 34 PTS, 23 REB, 14 AST, and 2 BLKs as he destroyed Anthony Davis, who actually had a great game with 40 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST, 3 STLs, 2 BLKs, in the paint, helping the Nuggets outrebound the Lakers 47-30! Remember, the Lakers have LeBron James, AD, Rui Hachimura, and Jared Vanderbilt (0 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL) at their disposal.
You’d honestly never think a guy like Jokic, who looks like a lame, lumbering yak running back and forth, would be able to dominate the game in the way he has, yet he’s simply the most freakish athlete I’ve ever seen.
Obviously, I don’t mean he’s anything like the monster that was prime Shaq, the lanky phenomenon like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or the silky-smooth on-his-feet Hakeem Olajawon, but he is able to track down every rebound and CONSISTENTLY make shots as if it was nothing is incredible.
He’s kind of like Dennis Rodman (rebounding senses) and Karl Malone (pure shot-making skillset) mixed into the body of a Serbian lumberjack…which is quite the sight now that I picture that in my head. Still, that’s what The Joker is and he’s utterly unstoppable when he’s going as he’s able to involve everyone on the offense.
As I said, Jamal Murray (31 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 3 STLs, 1 BLK), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (21 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 2 STLs, 1 BLK), Bruce Brown (16 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST), Michael Porter Jr. (15 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLKs) all were on fire to start off the game as they fed off the numerous double-teams and pick-and-roll opportunities Jokic was able to give them.
It’s hard to believe a defender like AD could have gotten so thoroughly destroyed by Jokic, forcing other Lakers like LeBron, Hachimura, and Vanderbilt to double team him, but that’s what was happening for the opening 36 minutes of the game…until Darvin Ham made an adjustment.
In what was the most brilliant coaching decision of the night, Darvin Ham sent Hachimura (17 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST) and he clamped down on Jokic like a vice grip. I don’t know if it was the new look or Hachimura’s relentless, agile coverage on him, but Jokic went ice cold in that 4th quarter as he only finished with 3 pts. And the Lakers took full advantage of that.
Led by LeBron James (26 PTS, 12 REB, 9 AST, 1 BLK), Austin Reaves (23 PTS, 2 REB, 8 AST), and AD, the Lakers started causing turnovers with their usual seal-tight defense, punishing the Nuggets on fast-break chances, and they got their scoring touch from beyond the arc.
The Lakers ended up with 46 made FGs (36-84; 54.8%), 11 made 3-pointers (11-24; 45.8%), and 23 successful free throws (23-26; 88.5%) to cut the lead all the way down to 132-129 with a little under a minute left in the 4th quarter.
But a few costly, low-chance shot attempts (such as LeBron’s 3-pointer at the very end of the game) and a really bad turnover that sent the Joker to the free throw line (again, it was LeBron who turned the ball over) ended the Lakers comeback prematurely, giving the Nuggets the vital Game 1 victory.
The series isn’t even close to being over yet, but this was a HUGE chance to steal an early game in Denver and take a stranglehold on the rest of the series. I highly doubt Jokic and the Nuggets will be susceptible to the defensive adjustments Darvin Ham made in this game for Game 2, so sending Hachimura to defend the Joker and disrupt the Nuggets offense may not work for Games 2-7 (if they play that many).
And if Hachimura can’t defend the Joker, then the Lakers are going out in 5 as not a single other player on the court last night showed they could withstand Jokic’s onslaught.
However, if the Lakers can minimize Jokic (you simply can’t stop the Joker outright) as they did in the 4th, then LA has a great chance of winning Game 2 and taking home court away from the West’s #1 seed.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
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