Los Angeles Lakers v Denver Nuggets (Lakers lead 3-1)
The Denver Nuggets had found themselves in a 3-1 hole twice in the 2020 playoffs. Both times, they came back to take out the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers. But on Saturday night, The King stopped any comeback hopes from gaining momentum.
The Lakers jumped out to a 61-51 lead after the first half and killed the Nuggets’ spirit. In the second half, the Nuggets began to fight back and managed to tie the game at one point. Still, in the fourth quarter, James destroyed any hopes the Nuggets had of having another 3-1 comeback. The Lakers won 117-107 and will be heading to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
The Nuggets have a lot to be proud of what they accomplished in these playoffs. They were the first team to come back from 3-1, twice, killing any talk of them being “soft.” Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, and Michael Porter Jr. will create one of the best young cores in the NBA, not to mention their younger players, like Bol Bol, who have yet to fully develop. No one had Denver making it as far as they did. Even though they fell short of their own goals, they showed they will be serious contenders for years to come.
The Lakers handled their business on Saturday night and made it back for their 32nd appearance at the NBA Finals. James (38PTS 16REBS 10AST) was the main reason the Lakers won tonight. He was on his game all night, and when the Nuggets made their run and tried to make this game interesting, LeBron scored or assisted on every basket to ice the game and willed himself into his 10th NBA Finals. Head Coach Frank Vogel deserves a lot of credit. The defensive game plan he devised against Jamal Murray (7-17FG 19PTS) shut him down.