Nikola Jokic played a great game, scoring 32 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The Denver Nuggets, who are the current NBA champions, beat the Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 in their first playoff game of the Western Conference on Saturday night.
Two other Nuggets players, Jamal Murray and Anthony Gordon, also did well, each scoring double-doubles. Murray got 22 points and 10 assists, while Gordon got 12 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. nearly got a double-double too, with 19 points and eight rebounds.
LeBron James scored 27 points for the Lakers, and Anthony Davis scored 32 points and got 14 rebounds. Despite their efforts, the Lakers lost to the Nuggets for the ninth time in a row.
This loss also marked only the fourth time James has lost in 17 first-round playoff openers.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played a crucial role for the Lakers, scoring all 12 of his points after halftime. He made three 3-pointers during a 13-0 run that helped the Nuggets take control in the third quarter.
Porter performed exceptionally well in the game, just as coach Michael Malone had predicted.
This came after a tough week for Porter’s family, with one brother, Coban Porter, receiving a six-year jail sentence for a fatal drunk driving accident, and another brother, former NBA player Jontay Porter, being banned from the NBA for gambling and sharing private information with other bettors.
