The Lakers’ unexpected postseason run came to a screeching halt on Monday night as the Nuggets beat LA on its home court, 113-111, to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
The Lakers led by 15 at halftime but scored just 38 second-half points as a virtuoso, 40-point performance from LeBron James was squandered.
After a massive third quarter where Denver outscored the Lakers by 20, the visitors found themselves up six with less than three minutes to play in LA, but James and Co. clawed their way back to to tie the game with 1:13 remaining.
Nikola Jokic, though, would help Denver regain a 113-111 lead, hitting a layup with 51.1 seconds remaining, and Aaron Gordon blocked James at the buzzer to secure the historic win.
Jokic ended the game with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as Denver finished off a sweep of their opponents.
Nikola Jokic had yet another triple-double as he named the MVP of the Western Conference Finals
Aaron Gordon delivered a final block on LeBron James to clinch the sweep of the Lakers
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone celebrates with the Western Conference Trophy
Jamal Murray also added 25 points for the newly-minted Western Conference champions, while Aaron Gordon had 22.
Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 and 13 respectively as well as every starter scored in double figures.
Jokic was named the MVP of the Western Conference Finals after the game.
‘It’s a collective effort for real,’ Jokic said after the game on ESPN. ‘We are growing as a team and a franchise.’
James was full of praise for his opponents after the game.
‘Me and AD were just talking in the locker room a little bit. I think we came to the consensus that [they’re] if not one of the best, probably the best team that we’ve played since we’ve been together for our four years,’ he said.
‘They’re just well-orchestrated, well put together, they have scoring, they have shooting, they have playmaking, they have smarts, they have length, they have depth.
LeBron James’ 40-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist effort was not enough for the Lakers
This is the first time the Nuggets have made the NBA Finals as a franchise
‘And one thing about their team, when you have a guy like Joker who , as big as he is but also as cerebral as he is, you can’t really make many mistakes.’
James continued his praise for the two-time MVP Jokic later in his post-game press conference.
‘There’s certain guys in this league that like to play a certain way – a certain way that I like to play the game as well,’ James said. And he’s one of them.
‘Where you’re always off balance when you’re guarding a player like that because of his ability to score, rebound, shoot. He sees plays before they happen. There’s not many guys in our league like that.
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Denver’s Finals appearance comes after top-three regular season finishes in four of the last five years, including a 53-29 mark this year, the best in the Western Conference.
And while the Nuggets are already in unchartered as a franchise, they’re still four wins away from reaching their ultimate goal.
‘Our players are hungry, they’re not satisficed. And they understand whether it’s Boston or Miami, we have much more work to do,’ Denver coach Michael Malone said.
For the Lakers, Monday was a bitter end to a whirlwind season that saw them barely make the playoffs but end up as one of the NBA’s final four teams.
Austin Reaves had 17 points in the loss for the Lakers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena
LA completely remade its roster at the trade deadline, parting ways with Russell Westbrook and adding D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Austin Reaves also cemented himself as one of the team’s top scoring options as the season wore on.
‘I just thanked them all,’ LA coach Darvin Ham said after the game. ‘It was great, the competitive spirit.’
‘Digging ourselves out of a deep deep hole… it was a hell of a year.’
James’ co-star Anthony Davis had 21 points, albeit inefficiently (6-15 from the field), while Austin Reaves added 17 in the loss.
