The Lakers lost to the Nuggets 114-124 at home, and James' 411 project was completed [40,000 points + 10,000 rebounds + 10,000 assists]. But the battle between the Lakers and the Nuggets still announced to all teams in the league that the league is still the finale. The defending champion Nuggets are still invincible this season, Jokic at his peak, Murray, the most efficient guard in the league, and the growth of Porter Jr. on the front line, and Gordon in the fourth position.
Last year, the Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals in incredible form, but did not win a game against the Nuggets. And in the finals, it is as strong as the Heat to face the Nuggets. Probably the only thing that caused trouble for the Nuggets was the Suns, who won two games by relying on Durant and Booker to let go, but this is already the limit. You can't say that the Lakers can't do it in this game, and no one is a backstabber, this is the gap in hard power.
The Nuggets are no longer the defending champions who were blown up by the Rockets in the opening stages, and they are getting better and better by trimming. Especially after the All-Star break, the Nuggets have improved their form to the same level as last year. And today the Lakers successfully grabbed the lead, and Lao Zhan did not score crazy points to break through 40,000 points at the beginning, but first connected his teammates, plus the Lakers felt good, and played a 14-3 attack wave.
It looked like the Lakers were going to win from the Nuggets, but then the Nuggets relied on the trident to keep eating away at the point difference. In the second quarter, James scored a successful breakthrough, and Russell suddenly exploded, and the Lakers led by 10 points at one point. But Murray stepped up and broke out in a desperate situation to chase 8 points for the Nuggets to end the half, and the Lakers scored double-doubles for four people in the half, which was already a good performance. In the third quarter, the Nuggets were in full swing, and there was a wave of 7-2, and Jokic turned on the attack mode, and he scored 13 points alone in 4 minutes to lead the team to overtake.
At the moment of life and death, Lao Zhan had to make a move, and he also scored 9 points in a row against Jokic in the final quarter, and the Lakers and Nuggets have been pulling. But at the critical moment, the Lakers still died in the old tactics of last season's Western Conference Finals, Jokic and Murray's king bomb doubles, these two attacked continuously at the last moment, and the Lakers defense couldn't prevent any of them, and a wave of 16-4 climax game ended. It's not just the Lakers' problem, the rest of the league can't stop the Nuggets' doubles.
There was also a time when the Warriors were playing the Nuggets and they took the lead. But then it was Jokic and Murray who single-handedly solved the problem, and the Warriors collapsed. Jokic scored 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, Murray had 24 points and 11 assists, Porter Jr. had 25 points, and Gordon had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. On the Lakers' side, James had 26 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals, Davis had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, and others actually played well, Reaves had 19 points, Russell had 17 points, and Hachimura even scored 23 points. So this is a game that can't be helped, whether it is the Thunder, or the Timberwolves, including the Big Three Clippers, the Nuggets are not afraid at all.
Because Jokic's advantage on the interior is too great, the Clippers' weakness is in the center position, the Timberwolves have twin towers but Jokic has technical restraint, and he is not afraid of the Timberwolves at all. The Thunder are strong, with Alexander, Jayway and Holmgren three less. But in terms of star level, Jokic Murray has an advantage over Holmgren and Alexander, or the Nuggets. The Lakers knew they would have a hard time winning championships this season, so they focused their main strategy on getting into the playoffs. In fact, the current Nuggets are more dominant than the cosmic Yong back then, because the Nuggets are too young, and all the cores are in their prime. Murray '97, Porter '98, Jokic '95, Gordon '95, how do you fight? Not much to say in the East, the Green Army Bucks Heat beat the Nuggets? To be honest, there is no chance.
**10,000 Fans Incentive Plan