Jokic kept the Lakers at bay as the Denver favorite took the series lead

Nikola Jokic made it clear in the opening playoff game against the Lakers that the defending champions from Denver are well prepared. The series favourites won Game 1 114-103 and Jokic was the best player of his team.

Denver didn’t falter at home

The defending champion Denver Nuggets enter the playoffs from the position of the second best team in the Western Conference and will repeat the semifinal series with the Los Angeles Lakers from last year, in which the Nuggets won 4: 2 games.

Denver made it to the playoffs without much trouble. Only Oklahoma City was better in the Western Conference. In addition, Jokic is once again among the biggest aspirants for the MVP of the season. That is, the MVP trophy, which he would win for the third time in his career if he wins.

The Los Angeles Lakers struggled for more than half of the season to make the playoffs at all. They finished the regular season in 8th place in the conference and secured a spot in the playoffs, where they advanced to the playoffs after a win at New Orleans.

The Lakers came into the game with a lot of gusto and clearly took the favorite by surprise. As a result, after the first quarter the team around Davis and James led by 8 points. However, by halftime the Nuggets started to take the initiative of the game into their own hands and the second half was completely in their hands.

Nikola Jokic man of the match

Denver was traditionally led by Jokic, with 32 points he was the top scorer of the game along with Anthony Davis of the Lakers. He also showed quality under the basket again, grabbing 12 rebounds and adding 7 final assists. In addition, he was supported by Jamal Murray, who scored the most final passes in the game with 22 points and 10 assists.

The Lakers were led by the Davis-James duo. Anthony Davis added 14 rebounds to his 32 points and dominated the boards under the basket, while ”veteran” Lebron James loaded the Nuggets’ basket with 27 points and added 6 assists and 8 rebounds. He spent almost 41 minutes on the floor, but he also committed 7 turnovers.

However, the second half was already completely in Denver’s control and the Lakers will have to come up with the best personal defense on Jokic to even think about success. Although we know Lebron, when he’s running in the team’s shoes, he’s capable of unprecedented shooting moments. Either way, the favorite has taken a 1-0 series lead for now, and in 2 days it will be very interesting to see how the Lakers fight to avoid leaving with a defeat again.

Source: NBA