Entering the game with an illness, Jamal Murray wasn’t the only one sweating something out. The Nuggets perspired throughout a 72-point second half from the Los Angeles Lakers but hung on to win Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, 132-126.
"It's the Western Conference Finals. We're up 1-0, so that beats the alternative. I just told our guys, we'll take the win, we protected our home court, and wins are hard to come by this time of the season," said Michael Malone after the victory. "But our defense has to be a hell of a lot better. They shot 66 percent in that second half, and they didn't feel us and scored way too easily. So we don't want to get into trying to outscore teams and outlast teams."
With the victory, Denver remains undefeated on their home floor during the 2023 playoffs. The 132 points the Nuggets put up were the most points the Lakers have allowed all postseason, who entered the Conference Finals with the number one defense of the playoffs. The Nuggets put up 72 points at halftime, tied for the fourth-most in franchise history in a single postseason half.
Nikola Jokić racked up video game numbers once more for Denver with 34 points, 21 rebounds, and 14 assists. He became just the third player ever to post at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in a playoff game.
As mentioned, Murray entered Game 1 feeling below the weather. He’d been struggling with a cough and told reporters that he had an ear infection over the weekend. Despite that, he managed to put up 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting and 4-of-8 from three-point range, plus five assists. It was a valiant effort.
"I mean, it's manageable," said Murray about his illness. "I had an ear infection on Saturday. You know, ear infections, they hurt a lot."
Michael Porter Jr. finished with a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He hit numerous tough shots in big moments, and he was excellent defensively as well by racking up 2 blocks.
"I think this season has by far been Michael's best defensive season of his very young career. And why is that? I think he's using his 6'10" frame, seven-foot wingspan," said Malone about MPJ. "And most importantly, he cares. He wants to win a championship."
The Nuggets had six players finish in double-figures. Jokić, Murray, and Porter Jr., as mentioned. Bruce Brown had 16 off the bench. Aaron Gordon had 12. And Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tied his season-high with 21 points, knocking down 3 three-pointers when Los Angeles helped on Jokić’s post-ups.
"What I'm seeing is a 10-year veteran who's won a world championship and who is built for moments like these," said Malone about KCP. "I marveled at his game tonight, not just the defensive end. But 21 points, knocked down some big threes late in the game. Drove the ball and finished over Anthony Davis with a finger roll. So KCP, that's why we went out and got a guy like that. And who's been in these situations before and who embraces this opportunity, and I think that's exactly what he's doing."
Anthony Davis led all players with 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the field. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and his help defense was a major reason why Jokić scored just 3 points in the fourth quarter.
"He's really, really, really, first of all, talented. He's a roll threat. He can play in the pocket. He can play ISO. He can play on the post," said Jokić about Davis. "So he's really, really talented. Probably the most skilled guy if you think about the size, what he can do with a ball, how good of a mid-range shooter he is, and how he is attacking the glass. So probably one of the most talented players in the league."
LeBron James had a near triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists. Many of his points came when Denver switched Murray on him on pick-and-rolls, a major sticking point for the Nuggets going forward.
Austin Reaves also gave the Lakers a spark and finished with 23 points on 5 made three-pointers. This was the first time all playoffs that Los Angeles lost a game when Reaves finished with at least 20 points.
Both teams shot ridiculous percentages from the field and from deep. Denver finished with 54.9 percent shooting and 46.9 percent from deep. Los Angeles made 54.8 percent of their shots and 45.8 percent of their threes. They were fairly even in points in the paint, Denver winning narrowly, 50-48. The Nuggets did, however, win the rebounding battle convincingly, 47-30, making the Nuggets 8-1 when controlling the glass.
The Nuggets got off to a tremendous start thanks to strong defense, up 19-8 early. Jokić was absolutely masterful with 8 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists. Gordon was also fantastic early and attack aggressively in transition for 8 points. When Denver put its bench in, the Lakers got good stuff by getting Murray switched onto James in the post, who put up 8 early points. Denver finished the first quarter ahead 37-25.
Bruce Brown broke free twice in transition to start the second quarter with 4 points to give the Nuggets a 42-29 lead. The Lakers cut that lead down after Davis blocked Jokić on a post-up and then hit a drifting floater on the other end. Murray and Jokić started finding some rhythm in the two-man game against the Lakers, who kept going underneath screens, and they finished with 23 combined points in the quarter to give the Nuggets a 72-54 halftime lead.
Murray kept cooking in the third with two three-pointers, and Jokić backed down Davis for a fadeaway two-pointer and then a runner off the glass. Then, Caldwell-Pope hit two midrange jumpers, a layup, and two three-pointers for 12 points in the quarter. Though the Nuggets got the lead up to as many as 20 points, the Lakers wouldn’t go away and got that advantage down to 14 points. Denver entered the fourth ahead, 106-92.
The Lakers continued to chip away at the lead with James matched up with Murray in the post on switches. Murray got his revenge with 6 points on multiple tough shots, including a rare post-up, and Porter Jr. rained in a three-pointer and blocked a shot from Hachimura as well. This bumped the lead back up.
Los Angeles eventually got the lead down to 6 points after the Lakers got the line four straight times. They also adjusted their defensive coverage and had Rui Hachimura guard Jokić instead of Davis and instead had AD roam nearby as a secondary defender while “guarding” Gordon. The adjustment worked, and Jokić scored just 3 points for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the Lakers cut the deficit down to just 3 points after Reaves hit a three-pointer.
Thankfully, Denver was able to force a miss from Davis, which Porter Jr. rebounded by diving onto the floor. That led to a dunk from Gordon. Caldwell-Pope then hit a layup to make it a 5-point game, and when James barfed up a three while matched up with Murray instead of taking it to the rim against his smaller defender, that sealed the game.
Milestone Watch
- Jamal Murray passed Carmelo Anthony to become the Nuggets' third-all-time leading scorer with 1,118 points. Next up is Alex English with 1,540 points.
- Nikola Jokić became the third player ever to put up at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in a playoff game. He's now done that twice.
- This was Jokić's fourth career playoff game with 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists, the most by any player in NBA history.
- Jokić finished with 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks in the first quarter of Game 1 and became the first player to do so in the last 25 years in any quarter, including both the regular season and playoffs.
- Jokić also became the first player with 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists in any half of a playoff game over the last 25 years.
- Jokić and Davis are the third pair of opposing starting centers to each have 30 points in a playoff game.
- Jokić is the first player in NBA postseason history with a 30-point triple-double and 70 percent shooting in consecutive games.
- The Nuggets scored 106 points by the end of the third quarter, the most points through three quarters of a playoff game in team history.
- The Lakers had only given up 106 points through three playoff quarters one other time in franchise history before Tuesday's explosion.
- The Nuggets' 72 points at halftime tied for the fourth-most in franchise playoff history for a first half.
- The Nuggets finished with 132 points, their most in regulation of a playoff game since 1986.
- Five Nuggets finished at least 15 points, just the third time that has ever happened in a playoff game in Nuggets' history.
