Nuggets eliminate Lakers from NBA playoffs

With a winning basket by Jamal Murray, LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers fell 108-106 to the Denver Nuggets this Monday and were eliminated 4-1 on aggregate in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

In the other two games on Monday, the Oklahoma City Thunder completed a 4-0 sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans and the Boston Celtics advanced 3-1 against the Miami Heat.

In Denver, LeBron James had 30 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists in his fight to avoid a second consecutive elimination at the hands of Denver.

At 39 years old, ‘King James’ had a heroic performance in his 44 minutes on the court until forcing a heart-stopping finish, which Jamal Murray decided for the locals with a spectacular mid-range shot four seconds from the end.

The Canadian point guard, who had already scored a similar winning shot in the second game, finished with 32 points while Nikola Jokic had a huge triple double with 25 points, 20 rebounds and 9 assists.

The Nuggets will continue their defense of the championship ring by facing the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Lakers, who lost the first three games of this series, had the almost impossible mission of being the first to come back from 3-0 down in the entire history of the playoffs.

Last Saturday the Los Angeles team cut the lead in front of their home crowd, breaking a streak of 11 consecutive losses against the Nuggets, the team that swept them 4-0 in the Western Finals last year.

Back at the Ball Arena, the Lakers once again stood up to the current champions with the help of LeBron and Davis, who had 17 points and 15 rebounds but was barely able to help his team in the final stretch due to a crash suffered one minute away. to start the second part.

The center backed away without looking into the Nuggets’ paint and collided with Michael Porter Jr., collapsing for several minutes on the court.

Davis, who was treated in the locker room, returned to the court but pain in his left arm and neck hampered his defense of Jokic.

The Nuggets neutralized a nine-point Lakers lead but could not get away on the scoreboard.

Every action by Jokic and Murray was responded to by LeBron, determined to avoid the end of his twenty-first season in the NBA.

LeBron tied the game with two free throws with 26 seconds left, but on the next possession Murray sealed the victory and the Nuggets’ qualification with a lethal jump shot.

The elimination of the Lakers now opens a period of uncertainty about the future of LeBron, who still has one more year on his contract in Los Angeles but also the option of becoming a free agent.

Thunder barre a Pelicans

The Thunder also advanced to the round this Monday, delivering a fourth and final defeat to the Pelicans by 97-89.

The team led by Mark Daigneault, recently elected NBA Coach of the Year, will play in the Western semifinals for the first time since 2016 against the Los Angeles Clippers or the Dallas Mavericks, whose key is tied 2-2.

Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a finalist for the MVP award, was once again Oklahoma City’s top scorer with 24 points.

The Pelicans fought in front of their fans until midway through the fourth quarter, when they threw in the towel in a series in which they competed burdened by the loss of their star Zion Williamson due to injury.

Boston acorrala a Miami

The Boston Celtics, the first seed in the East, moved one step away from qualifying by beating the Miami Heat 102-88 and taking a 3-1 lead on aggregate.

The Celtics will have their first chance to eliminate the defending runners-up on Wednesday in front of their TD Garden crowd.

The negative note of the victory was the withdrawal near halftime of the Latvian Kristaps Porzingis due to a calf injury that will require additional tests.

Point guard Derrick White was the star of the Celtics with 38 points, a career scoring record, and 8 triples.

For the Heat, who were without their leader Jimmy Butler for the entire series, center Bam Adebayo had 25 points and 17 rebounds and Mexican-American rookie Jaime Jáquez Jr. had 9 points.

Lionel Messi, the star of Inter Miami of the MLS, followed the game from a box accompanied by one of his sons and his teammates and friends Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.