The Los Angeles Lakers won with authority the first game of the Western Conference final against the Denver Nuggets (126-114). Specialists in reversals of the situation in the second half of the previous round against the Clippers, the Nuggets were this time powerless, even after the break against the Lakers who were able to rely on numerous contributions to continue to widen the gap and secure a large victory, the gap only narrowing in the very last minutes.
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Denver could only believe it during a quarter-time, the first, where the attacks (and Anthony Davis) set the pace and the Nuggets finished in the lead thanks to an award-winning basket buzzer from Jamal Murray (38- 36).
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Then, Los Angeles took the game in hand thanks to LeBron James author of 13 points during a second quarter where we were first worried about him after a small twist of an ankle. During this period, the Lakers also had plenty of whistles in their favor, attempting 24 free throws (for only 14 successful). Despite their mattress of eleven points at the break (70-59), the Californians knew that everything was going to be played out in the third quarter, the one that Denver left his mark in the last three victories against the Clippers.
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Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard respond present
But on Friday, the Lakers squad showed much more depth than that of the Nuggets. Behind Davis (37 points, 10 rebounds), several players have stood out from Markieff Morris (9 points at 3 of 4 at three points) to Rajon Rondo (7 points and 9 assists) via Kyle Kuzma (11 points) and Dwight Howard (13 points, 2 interceptions and 2 blocks). The pivot also brought in defense where he physically hampered Jokic. It would not be surprising to see him slip into the starting five at the expense of JaVale McGee (used only 6 minutes in the first 3 quarters).
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Rondo put an end to the suspense at the start of the fourth quarter. Denver had just passed an 8-0, reducing the gap to 17 points (109-92, 39th) and forcing Frank Vogel, the Lakers coach, to take a time out. Coming out of it, despite Denver’s good defense, the substitute point guard scored from behind the circle with a bell shot over the backboard.
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Nothing could then happen to the Lakers, aided by the clumsiness of the Nuggets. Apart from Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic (21 points each but playing time limited by faults for the Serbian), all the other players in Denver struggled to find the target. Paul Millsap, Jeramy Grant, Gary Harris and Michael Porter Jr all together scored a weak 10 of 33 that has not forgiven the shot.
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It was only in the “garbage time”, with the substitutes on the ground, that the gap was reduced at the end of the game. But it will take more than that initial loss to deter the Nuggets and their fans. In the previous round, they had been largely beaten by the Clippers in Game 1 (120-97) before achieving the return that we know.
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