The Denver Nuggets obviously aren’t scared. Nor are they nervous after beating the Lakers in a Western Conference finals opener Tuesday.
But somewhere, maybe deep in the back of their collective mind, there’s the realization they played a near-perfect game … and almost lost.
The Lakers ultimately fell, 132-126, as Nuggets center Nikola Jokic had a surreal stat line of 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 rebounds on Denver’s home court.
But Lakers guard Austin Reaves led a fourth-quarter charge with 11 of his 23 points as the Lakers almost overturned a 21-point deficit.
Jokic stole the headlines, and rightly so, but Lakers center Anthony Davis scored 40 points and added 10 rebounds.
If only the Lakers hadn’t staggered out of the gate and trailed by 12 after the first quarter. And 18 at halftime.
“Our first half was really ugly, to say the least,” Reaves said. “We got it going in the second half and really just played harder.”
The Lakers trailed by three when LeBron James made two free throws with 1:12 to play. They got the ball back after a missed Denver three-pointer, but then James misfired one of his own with 45.2 seconds left.
Jokic made two free throws and then James lost the ball in the paint while trying to dribble between his legs with 18.2 seconds left. Game over.
“We’ve got to start [stronger] from tip-off. They punched us in the mouth at the start,” said James, who had 26 points and 12 rebounds. “They set the tone in the first 24 minutes and we was playing catch-up the next 24.”
The Lakers went small from the beginning, starting a third guard (Dennis Schröder) instead of power forward Jarred Vanderbilt. It didn’t work.
The Lakers were out-rebounded, 47-30, and were especially damaged on the offensive glass, 15-5.
“We gave them way too many second-chance points,” Lakers Coach Darvin Ham said.
The Lakers had the top-rated defense in the playoffs but that took a hit in Denver.
Jokic made 12 of 17 shots and beat the Lakers everywhere — down low, midrange and the three-point line. He collected 19 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and, sure, two blocked shots before even going to the locker room at halftime.
How good was he? Davis could only smile ruefully after Jokic nonchalantly drained a 28-foot three-pointer over him as time expired in the third quarter.
“There’s no one person that’s going to stop him,” Ham said. “It has to be done by committee.”
Jokic wasn’t the only Denver player putting up numbers. Jamal Murray scored 31 points and former Lakers shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 21 points.
Jokic’s game overshadowed a stellar night by his counterpart Davis, who made 14 of 23 shots.
Lakers reserve forward Rui Hachimura also had a solid game, scoring 17 points in 28 minutes. He displayed some decent defense against Jokic down the stretch.
Hachimura hasn’t started a game since March 15 but maybe he’ll get the call Thursday in Game 2. Or maybe Lakers Coach Darvin Ham goes back to Vanderbilt, who played only 10 minutes Tuesday.
Either way, James had a prediction: “We’ll be better in Game 2, that’s for sure.”
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