LOS ANGELES – LeBron James scored 30 points, Anthony Davis added 25 points and 23 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers avoided the playoffs with a 119-108 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their first-round series on Saturday night. Saved from.
D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves scored 21 points each for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who snapped an 11-game losing streak against the defending NBA champions with their first win over the Nuggets since December 2022.
Denver eliminated Los Angeles from the Western Conference Finals last season, but the current Lakers responded to this 0-3 loss with a performance worthy of a team that entered the postseason with 12 wins in 15 games. . James scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the fourth quarter, leading the Lakers again in his 21st NBA season.
Nikola Jokic had 33 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists for the two-time MVP’s 18th triple-double of his career and second in the series.
Game 5 is Monday night in Denver.
After blowing double-digit leads in each of the first three games of the series, Los Angeles again took the lead for good early in the second half of Game 4, but never trailed again despite the Nuggets’ unexpected late rally. .
Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points and 11 rebounds for Denver, and Jamal Murray scored 22 points while going 0 of 4 on 3-point attempts. Aaron Gordon had only seven points for the Nuggets after scoring 29 in Game 3, the highest-scoring playoff game of his career.
The Lakers’ 19-point lead with just six minutes remaining was cut to 113–106 on Jokic’s three-point play with 1:25 remaining, but Reaves hit a low jumper before adding two free throws as L.A. to continue.
The second-seeded Nuggets also lost a close game to Minnesota in the first round last season while leading 3–0, but Denver won that series in five games and lost only three times en route to their first title.
The Lakers showed no signs of losing in their dire circumstances in Game 4 and only drove the ball in the paint for 44 points during the first half. Los Angeles’ 61–48 halftime lead was also its fourth in the series.
The Lakers extended their advantage to 15 points in the third quarter and held the lead until the final minutes, when Jokic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finally sparked a Nuggets rally.
Reggie Jackson played nine minutes for Denver despite spraining his ankle in the second half of Game 3. Nuggets coach Michael Malone initially did not think Jackson would be available for Game 4, but the 13-year veteran surprised the coaches with his quick recovery.
Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy-winning former USC quarterback and No. 1 overall pick in this weekend’s NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, watched the game from courtside.
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