Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images
In the process, Nikola Jokic showed everyone why he’s still the best basketball player in the world.
Nuggets outlast Lakers in Game 1, 132-126
There has never been a player in the history of the game of basketball like Nikola Jokic. Plain and simple. The phrase “unicorn” is insanely tired and wildly overused, but if there actually is one unicorn in the NBA, it’s Jokic. The way he moves is not synonymous with the way a professional basketball should move, yet it disarms every opponent. The way he shoots is unorthodox; some might even go as far as to call his release “ugly.” He’s a doughy seven-footer with the basketball IQ of an All-NBA level player at every single position rolled into one.
Jokic does not make sense. And that’s precisely what makes him so brilliant.
The two-time MVP recorded his sixth triple-double of these playoffs, scoring 34 points, pulling down 21 rebounds, and handing out 14 assists, as his Nuggets jumped ahead 1-0 on the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Denver led by as many as 21 points in the game, in large part thanks to Jokic’s stupidly stellar performance, particularly in the first three quarters.
Because it was the fourth quarter where the Lakers managed to make things especially interesting. Though they scored 38 points in the third, much to Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone’s chagrin, Denver managed to only lose the quarter by four after having led by 18 at halftime. For you mathematicians out there, L.A.’s third-quarter performance only cut Denver’s lead to 14. That’s still a significant advantage.
Plus, Jokic ended the third by draining this reality-defying triple to maintain Denver’s momentum. I mean, come on.
But the Lakers kept their offensive onslaught going into the final frame, where they outscored the Nuggets by eight overall (34-26) and cut the lead down to just three. LeBron James’ ability to bully smaller defenders into the paint and draw fouls played a big part; he finished the game with 26 points, 12 boards, and nine assists, and shot eight-for-11 at the charity stripe. Austin Reaves added 23 points of his own, including a few big threes in the fourth to cut into Denver’s lead. Anthony Davis, however, was the Lakers’ offensive leader for the night, as he scored a game-high 40 points and made all 11 of his free throws.
Yet for how well the Lakers played in the fourth, it was too little too late, and the Nuggets made enough plays down the stretch to hang on to their lead and take Game 1 at home. In particular, the Nuggets were able to corral a loose ball and finish off one of the wildest fastbreaks of the postseason to jump ahead by six with just over two minutes to go. They never looked back.
Jokic’s triple-double makes him the only player in NBA history to record more than one 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double in the postseason. (Wilt Chamberlain did it back in 1967, and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar in 1970.) In addition for Denver, Jamal Murray had 31 points while dealing with an ear infection, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 21 points against his former team, Michael Porter Jr. finished with 15 points and 10 boards, and Bruce Brown added 16 points.
Game 2 is Thursday night in Denver, where the Nuggets remain undefeated this postseason (7-0) and have gone 41-7 overall this season, including the playoffs.
Six more of these, please.
