Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets defeat the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs

NBA

From the Associated Press

DENVER — Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 12 rebounds and the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets defeated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 in the Western Conference playoff opener on Saturday night. .

Two other Nuggets players, Jamal Murray (22 points, 10 assists) and Anthony Gordon (12 points, 11 rebounds), posted double-doubles, and Michael Porter Jr. also came close with 19 points and eight boards. did.

For Los Angeles, James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds, but the Lakers lost to the Nuggets for the ninth consecutive year, and Denver handed James his fourth loss in the opening 17 games of the first round.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored all 12 of his points after halftime, made three 3-pointers and the Nuggets went on a 13-0 run to take control in the third quarter.

After a trying week for the family, the younger brother, Corban Porter, and another brother of the former Toronto Raptors were sentenced Friday to six years in prison for a fatal drunk driving accident. As coach Michael Malone expected, Porter excelled on the court. Guard Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for betting on basketball and leaking confidential information to other bettors.

“There's so much going on off the court for Michael Porter Jr. and his family,” Malone said. “This allows him to get back to doing what he not only loves, but what he does very well.”

The Nuggets entered the playoffs under heavy scrutiny, but they were extremely confident in their chances of winning a consecutive championship, as they matched a franchise record with 57 wins in the regular season, four more than last year.

One sign of their laxity: Jokic, who appears in the trailer for Despicable Me 4, in which the minions seek therapy because they think they're the boss, is black and gray. He arrived at the ball arena wearing a striped scarf and gray pants. He resembles Felonious Gru, the main character in the movie series.

James should have shown up dressed like Vector because he drowned out the Lakers' pregame introductions and played the perfect villain to a packed crowd.

James capped off a great first half by scoring 19 points on a 32-foot 3-pointer to break a 57-point tie after the Lakers blew a 12-point lead.

Denver's 13-0 run in the third quarter almost became a laughing stock in the fourth as the Nuggets extended their lead to 15 points. But a pair of free throws by James, a 3-point play by Davis and a basket by Taurean Prince cut the Lakers' lead to 96-88 with 7:17 remaining.

But the closest the Nuggets got was at 103-96, when Porter hit a 3 and Jokic dunked on a James turnover to extend Denver's lead to 12 points.

The Nuggets are looking to become the first team to successfully defend their NBA title since the Golden State Warriors did it six years ago.

Denver dominated the Lakers in last season's Western Conference Finals, but it was the penultimate step the Nuggets had to clear before winning their first NBA title.

The Lakers haven't beaten the Nuggets since Dec. 16, 2022.

They will try again Monday night in Game 2 at Ball Arena, where Denver has won 34-8 this season.

This is just the 18th time in 80 first-round games that James has lost.

It was the third time in his six seasons with the Lakers that he lost the opening game of the playoffs, and the fourth time overall.

His teams also lost in the series opener in 2018 (Indiana vs. Cleveland), 2020 (Portland vs. Lakers) and 2021 (Phoenix vs. Lakers).