Lakers 126-132 Nuggets, Highlights Game 1: Jokic triple-double enough to sustain Lakers’ late charge as Nuggets take 1-0 lead

Nuggets survive! That could have been embarrasing had the Lakers snatched the win from here. Jokic with a blazing 34 points, 14 assists and 21 rebounds performance to keep his side’s perfect record at the Ball Arena intact.

Davis tried his best, firing in 40 points to go with his 10 rebounds, but the side’s massive first half deficit proved too big to cut down. LeBron scored 26 points on the night but remained an isolated figure for the most part.

If this is what game one had to offer, get ready for a thrilling seven match series. That will be all for today. We will be back for game two on Thursday.

Reaves with the pass inbound. He goes to Davis who misses the three. The rebound goes to Nuggets and they run the clock out.

Jokic is able to convert only one of the two shots.

Lakers call their last timeout.

Davis inbounds the ball. He gives it to LeBron. LeBron to Reaves. LeBron gets it again in the paint but Jokic steals it off him.

Jokic is fouled at the other end and he will shoot two free throws.

Jokic gets the first points in the quarter wiht the two FTs.

Lakers call a timeout with 26.3 seconds left.

Jokic is fouled on the drive to the rim by Davis. FTs incoming.

LeBron too misses a shot from downtown. Schroder then fails to collect the loose ball.

KCP misses his three point shot.

LeBron is fouled by Porter and he will go to the FT line. The Lakers star fires in the important shots.

KCP with a scooped lay up to get the lead back to five.

REAVES! Another three from the Lakers player.

Nuggets! An alley up to get six points ahead! Gordon with the finishing dunk.

Gordon misses one the shots in these clutch moments.

Gordon with a rebound collection off a missed shot by Jokic.

He is fouled on that play and will head to line.

REAVES! He knocks down a three pointer. 9-0 run for the Lakers.

Michael Malone calls for a timeout!

Jokic commits a mistake on his pass on the offensive end and concedes a turnover.

LeBron with a miss on the first shot.

LeBron takes the ball and charges to the other end. He is fouled on the lay up and will shoot free throws.

DAVIS WITH A BLOCK ON JOKIC! MASSIVE!

Reaves connects the shots and the deficit is just seven points.

Reaves with a foul on him. KCP tries to steal the ball from him at the corner but fouls him in doing so.

Jokic fouls Davis on the offensive board and the Lakers player heads to the line.

Makes both the shots to ct the gap to nine.

LeBron misses one of the two shots from the line.

LeBron again successful in drawing a foul from Murray.

Gordon is fouled. It is a non-shooting one but Nuggets have the bonus.

He makes just one of the two FTs.

Davis with a teardrop shot from the corner.

Murray knocks down both the FTs to get his tally to 30 points.

Lakers lose their timeout and the challenge is deemed unsuccessful.

Murray is fouled by Schroder on a jump shot. Schroder commits it but Lakers’ coach Ham decides to challenge the decision.

Schroder with a three from the left wing. Hit off a LeBron assist. We are dealing in threes here.

KCP cancels out Davis’ three moments ago!

Davis with a corner three.

The foul is handed to Jokic rather than Murray and Nuggets end up keeping their timeout. More importantly, Murray has room for a foul.

Murray is called for a foul on Schroder in defense. That would be his fifth personal and hence coach Malone decides to challenge the call.

Murray again! This time a fade away over Lonnie Walker.

Lakers call a timeout!

Murray with a drive to the rim. He finds the net with a side finish past AD!

Davis with two FTs to get to within 10 points.

Jeff Green! Wide open at the perimeter and he knocks down the three pointer. Davis gave him the room to shoot and he makes it count.

Davis with a pass to Hachimura under the rim. Dunks it in.

Vanderbilt with an offensive foul. Turnover conceded.

Porter! He knocks down another three. You cancel the first one? No problems.

Murray’s buzzer beater over LeBron has been changed to a two pointer. So it is an eight point advantage for the home team.

Reaves gets a three-pointer to go and just like that the deficit is back to single digits.

Nuggets ask for a timeout!

Hachimura with a scooped finish off a lay up.

Murray with a buzzer beating side step shot over LeBron. A three pointer!

LeBron with another powerful play in the paint. He bullies Murray to shield the ball. Makes the shot and gets the foul call too. Converts the three point chance.

Gordon misses two FTs after he was fouled on a lay up.

Lakers have pulled the tie back the slightest bit. Had it not been the buzzer beating three, the deficit would have been jusst 11 points. Davis leading the fightback with 31 points. Much better than the 20-point deficit the team saw at one stage. Can they make the unthinkable comeback in the final quarter.

JOKIC! YOU CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO DO THAT!

The clock is ticking down to the end of the third quarter. Jokic just strolls to the perimeter, throws the ball in the air and hits the three. Davis is simply dumbstruck by that shot.

Davis with two more free throws to cut the deficit down to 11 points. Davis is now on 31 points.

Reaves with a jump shot and he is fouled in the air. Connects both his free throws.

Jokic with a fade away shot over Davis. He waited for a pass, for a teammate to open up. He took matters into his own hands in the end.

Walker with a steal off Jokic’s pass. Davis with a foul and count move on the other end. Hits the FT too.

Hachimura with a spin and reverse lay up.

Bruce Brown is called for an offensive foul on Reaves.

Bruce Brown! A poster dunk down the middle of the paint. He goes past three Lakers players for that shot.

LeBron knocks down both his free throws.

LeBron draws a foul from KCP on his jump shot.

KCP! There is no stopping him. Another three.

KCP with a three pointer over Shcroder which is cancelled by Reaves’ jumper from the wing.

LeBron and Davis with four points for Lakers.

Jokic with a three! Is there something he cannot do? Gets a pass from Murray and knocks down the shot.

LeBron rattles the net with a mid-range jump shot.

KCP with successive jump shots off dribbles to take the lead back to 20. Jokic got the assist for the first shot and that completes his triple double.

Lakers call a timeout.

Reaves with another two points to cut the gap to 16.

Davis’ tip in off Schroder’s pass is denied after a foul was commited on him before the shot was taken.

Porter with a jump shot past Reaves. Nearly got the three pointer.

AD with a floater into the net.

Jokic with a steller pass to KCP who finds the net from under the rim.

Russell with another two points.

Jokic with a run and shot off the glass. Finished it on the run.

Jokic with a shoulder block to create space between him and AD. Pulls up and bangs it home.

Russell with a turn and shoot opportunity. Hits!

Michael Malone asks for a timeout for Nuggets!

Davis with a dunk to finish a dime by LeBron.

Anther three by Murray! He has 23 points now.

Murray! Picking where he left off! He gets a three to hit over LeBron.

LeBron with a left-handed shot to finish the drive.

Nuggets get the first possession but they squander it as Gordon goes out of bounds.

We’re all set for the thrid quarter.

Jokic has hit an outstanding 19 points in the first half. This is to go with his 17 rebounds. He has proved unstoppable for the Lakers. Jamal Murray has struck 17 points of his own, along with 14 and 10 from Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr.

Lakers simply have not had an answer. They look out of sorts and have been outplayed in almost every aspect of the game. Darvin Ham needs to put on his thinking hat here to turn this one around.

Murray with a jump shot to take the last points of the half and stretch Nuggets’ lead to 18.

Murray with a jump shot from mid range. Hits!

Lonnie Walker with a catch and shoot move. He gets the pass from Jokic and goes for a three.

Jokic with two free throws after a foul by Hachimura.

Murray and Davis find the net as the two teams exchange two pointers.

Davis from close range for a two pointer.

Porter! Teriffic. He gets a swat on Reaves’ jump shot from behind. Charges down the other end, gets the ball at the corner, goes for a three and hits!

Jokic is fouled by Hachimura and he gets the free throws through the net.

Russell with a sharp pass to Reaves under the rim. Caught Porter napping. Reaves with a simple jump shot to get the points.

Murray with a three point shot. Connects. Again its the screen from Jokic which allows him the shot.

Davis and Hachimura with two buckets to get the deficit down to 11.

Nuggets again hit on the transtition. Porter with the finish after multiple passes.

Bruce Brown with a three point play. He gets a layup to go over Russell, draws the foul and then hits the free throw.

Russell with a fade away from corner to get his first points.

Jokic with a dunk to finish off a drive to the rim.

LeBron to AD and the centre dunks it home.

JOKIC! Knocks down from downtown. He gets a pass from Gordon to make that shot.

LeBron hits just one of his two free throws.

Jokic loses the ball with a poor pass and LeBron leads the transition play. He is fouled by Jeff Green on the lay up.

Nuggets call a timeout!

Davis with a jump shot from the paint.

JOKIC! He gets the ball on the edge of the circle, gets past Davis and lays it in.

Davis scores from both the FTs.

Davis will take two free throws.

Moments earlier, he denies Jokic from close-range. Wonderful!

Lakers an Nuggets with easy shots missed. Jokic has 14 rebounds now.

Hachimura! He gets a trey in the dying seconds of the possession. Right down the centre.

LeBron with a drive to the rim and a finish.

BROWN! He does the lot. Gets the block, collects the loose ball, runs the length of the court and lays the ball into the net.

Lakers take a timeout!

Bruce Brown with a lay up shot after transition. Neat inter play between him and Gordon to get that scoring chance.

Murray with a drive down the lane, step back and jump shot over Schroder.

Murray knocks down the free throw.

Vanderbilt with a foul on Murray from an inbound ball.

A FT and possession for the Nuggets.

Hachimura with a block in defense. He gets a jump shot over Jeff Green at the offensive end.

Not that it was unclear to the Lakers, but they’ve been greeted by the talent and prowess of Nikola Jokic in the opening quarter. 12 rebounds, five assists and eight points for the two-time MVP. Nuggets have shot at 50% which propelled them to the advantage.

LeBron gets a fade away floater to connect from the glass. Again, it was Murray who was guarding him.

Bruce Brown with a three point shot from the wing.

LeBron James! He tracks back after Lakers lose possession. Gets the swat on Bruce Browns’s shot.

LeBron with a shoulder block on Murray and a shot off the glass.

LeBron with a run down the lane and a finish off the board.

Brown with another two points and the Nuggets will take a timeout with that.

Jokic with a brilliant turn to beat the double team of Davis and Russell. He gets a pass to KCP with that and Nuggets get two points.

Lakers then see Lonnie Walker get to the corner and knock down a wide open three.

Reaves fires a great bullet pass to Hachimura under the rim. A neat finish.

Hachimura fouls Gordon and the Nuggets player will take two FTs. Godron connects both shots. 16 point lead already for the home team.

JOKIC! He gets a rebound after Porter’s missed three. Simple finish to follow.

Jokic has 10 rebounds already! Let that sink in.

Davis with a block on Jokic!

Brown gets the two shots into the bucket.

Bruce Brown is fouled by Davis on a lay up. Two FTs coming.

Jokic with a floated shot over Davis from the two point line.

Reaves from downtown! Lakers need more of that.

Denver rolling on! Gordon with a dunked finish over Reaves first.

Nuggets then steal the ball and Jokic fires it in from close range.

We resume with 7:14 left on the clock.

Murray with a reverse finish to a transition lay up. He gets the Ball Arena on its feet. LeBron goes too heavy from a lay up attempt. Credit to Gordon on the defence. The Nuggets move the ball downhill like lightening and strike.

Lakers call a timeout!

Porter with a pull up shot from mid range.

AD with a couple of free throws. He was fouled by Jokic on a turn and lay up.

Davis gets a lay up to get two points.

Murray then nails a three pointer. Gets the ball on the run and uses Jokic’s screen to take the time for the shot.

JOKIC! He sweeps in to collect a rebound. Then he gets a tip in after a missed lay up.

KCP with a trey! The lead back to four points.

Schroder with a three point shot from the corner. Davis with a block on Gordon at the defensive end.

Jokic off the mark with a shot from close-range.

KCP with a long two point shot.

Gordon with a floater from the post. He got the rebound after lay up miss from Murray.

LeBron with a 2nd ball win and a lay up to follow. Lakers off the mark!

The jump ball is won by Davis. Lakers get the first possession of the game.

San Antonio Spurs gets the No.1 pick for the NBA Draft 2023. Safe to say Victor Wembanyama has his team. Coach Popovich with the French prodigy in San Antonio.

The King continues to defy the odds and chases a fifth ring. He truly shows that age is just a number. Can he take the Lakers through this round and the NBA Finals?

This will be the second West Finals in four years which will see Nuggets go against the Lakers. The 2020 bubble in Orlando also saw LeBron and Jokic face off for the conference crown. Here are the results from that series:

Nuggets 114-126 Lakers

Nuggets 103-105 Lakers

Lakers 106-114 Nuggets

Lakers 114-108 Nuggets

Nuggets 107-117 Lakers

If his offensive might was not already daunting enough, here is Anthony Davis smoking three-pointers. Good luck, Denver!

Where will the Lakers vs Nuggets NBA Playoffs series be telecast on TV in India?

The Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets NBA Playoffs series will be telecast on Sports18, Sports18 HD and MTV in India.

Game 1 will be telecast on Wednesday, May 17, starting 06:00 AM.

Where to live stream the Lakers vs Nuggets NBA Playoff games?

The Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets NBA Playoffs series will be live streamed on JioCinema app.

The entire series can also be watched on NBA.com with an NBA League Pass.

Where will the Lakers vs Nuggets NBA Playoffs series be telecast on TV in the United States?

The Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets NBA Playoffs series will be telecast on ESPN in the United States.

Where will the Lakers vs Nuggets NBA Playoffs series be telecast on TV in the Phillippines?

The Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets NBA Playoffs series will be telecast on TV5, One Sports and NBA TV Phillippines.

If the Denver Nuggets can continue its dominance at Ball Arena, it will not only conquer LeBron James and Anthony Davis but it will also vanquish the ghost of its horrendous playoff performances against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nuggets has lost all seven playoff series against the Lakers in its history, including inside the NBA bubble in 2020.

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