Nikola Jokic leads the Nuggets to defeat the Lakers in the first game of the West
The Serb recorded his sixth triple-double of these playoffs with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 132–126 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Western Conference Finals began with Game 1 between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers, which in its first chapter went to the Colorado guys (132-126), who dominated the first half with the unstoppable Nikola Jokic, But eventually he had to face defeat. For the adjustments coach Darwin Hamm made to keep the ‘clown’ away.
These were some of the keys to the Nuggets’ victory.
1.- The invincible Nikola Jokic.
There was no way to stop Jokic, who had already signed a double-double, during the first half of the game as the Nuggets raced to a 21-point lead, largely due to the ‘Joker’s’ color dominance Thee led his quintet to close the scoring of the first two quarters with a 72–54 partial.
Nikola Jokic attempts a basket during Game 1 of the Western Finals between the Nuggets and Lakers. Photo: AP
Denver had 36 boards to 13 of their opponent, 23 of those 36 being defensive to not allow the Yellow and Purple second chances. A total of 16 out of 23 defensive boards were recovered by the Serbian center.
2.- Two-digit headlines.
Coach Michael Malone’s quintet had better overall play and contributions from his starting players, who all finished with double-digit points, as well as Bruce Brown’s contribution of 14 units coming off the bench, while the Los Angeles side , Anthony Davis worked with the team. scored in the first half, with 18 points and exploded in the second half to finish the game with 40 points; However, LeBron James’ help came ‘late’ as the ‘Kings’ only added 11 units through the first half.
D’Angelo Russell and Dennis Schroder followed with eight and six points, respectively.
3.- Late Adjustment by Coach Ham
Darwin Hamm adjusted the mark on Jokic late when he floored Rui Hachumira with an AD to control the two-time MVP; Thanks to this, the Lakers dominated the final quarter 29–18 and Austin Reeves’s layup came to cut the game to three points, going 5–9 from the field, at times giving up the Angelina illusion of tying the game. fed.
Game 2 will take place on Thursday at the same venue, Nuggets Ball Arena.
