20 Second Timeout

Murray Dominates Early, Jokic Dominates Late as Nuggets Beat Lakers to Take 3-0 Lead

Jamal Murray scored 30 of his game-high 37 points in the first half, and then Nikola Jokic scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Denver Nuggets' one-two punch knocked out the L.A. Lakers 119-108 in Los Angeles to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets will go for the sweep--and their first Finals appearance since they lost 4-2 to the New York Nets in the 1976 ABA Finals--on Monday night in Los Angeles. Murray shot 15-29 from the field, grabbed seven rebounds, dished for six assists, and had a game-best +18 plus/minus number. Plus/minus numbers can be noisy in small sample sizes, but in this instance plus/minus provides an accurate approximation of Murray's outsize impact on this game's outcome. Murray is a three level scorer who uses his speed, quickness, athleticism, and shooting touch to his advantage; his 53 points over a three quarter span from the end of game two through the first two quarters of game three are the most by a player in the past 25 postseasons.

Jokic had an average game by his lofty two-time MVP standards (9-19 field goal shooting, team-high eight assists, six rebounds), but his presence--known as "gravity" only when applied to Stephen Curry--impacts opposing defenses, which is reflected in his +15 plus/minus number (second only to Murray, and six points better than any other player). Jokic was anything but average when this game was up for grabs, dominating whoever the Lakers sent his way. Whatever the Lakers allegedly "figured out" while losing game one is something that they have managed to replicate by also losing games two and three; the Lakers have not stopped Jokic, and they clearly have no answer for Murray. Former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (17 points), Bruce Brown (15 points, five rebounds, five assists), and Michael Porter Jr. (14 points) also had strong performances. 

Anthony Davis had a very good game (team-high 28 points on 11-18 field goal shooting, game-high 17 rebounds), but he fell silent in the fourth quarter (two points on 1-3 field goal shooting) when this game--and, most likely, this series--was decided. LeBron James finished with 23 points, a game-high 12 assists, and seven rebounds. He shot 8-19 from the field, including 3-9 from three point range. A ratio of nine three point field goal attempts to seven free throw attempts for James is not a winning formula for the Lakers. The Lakers need for James to attack the hoop. James hit back to back three pointers near the end of the third quarter to pull the Lakers within 83-82--and that was one of the best things that happened for the Nuggets, because James then shot 1-4 from three point range in the fourth quarter, scoring seven points on 2-6 field goal shooting. Anything that encourages James to abandon the paint in favor of camping out behind the three point line is great for the Nuggets and bad for the Lakers.

Austin Reaves added 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Rui Hachimura, the secret weapon that the Lakers "found" in game one, had 13 points on 5-12 field goal shooting, but he provided a quote that summarized what those who understand basketball knew before this series began: "They're just bigger than us. They can shoot over us." 

The Lakers used to have a 6-3 future Hall of Famer who plays bigger than his size, rebounds in traffic and then pushes the ball up the court to create easy baskets for himself and his teammates. He is big enough and athletic enough that he could at least take away Murray's post up game, and he is aggressive enough offensively that he would require Murray to use some energy on defense. Of course, the Lakers brilliantly replaced Russell Westbrook with a "tremendous trio" that had an epic performance in this must win home game--epically bad, that is: D'Angelo Russell scored three points on 1-8 field goal shooting in 20 minutes while compiling a -12 plus/minus number that indicates why he played just three fourth quarter minutes, Jarred Vanderbilt scored two points in just under 14 minutes while compiling a -10 plus minus number that indicates why he did not play in the fourth quarter, and Malik Beasley did not score in the one fourth quarter minute he played after the Lakers threw in the towel. Hey, the Lakers swapped Westbrook for two starters, so it must have been a great trade! Just ignore the fact that the two starters played their way out of the fourth quarter rotation while combining to make only two field goals for the entire game. 

The most amazing thing about the Westbrook trade is that there are still people who will peddle the narrative that the Lakers improved themselves by getting rid of Westbrook in exchange for three players who can provide nothing of value in a playoff series against an elite team.

Just wait until James retires, because this core unit of Davis, Reaves, Hachimura, and the "tremendous trio" is poised to set the league on fire--if you like dumpster fires!

The Nuggets have been underrated--if not flat out ignored--by many commentators throughout the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. Before the season began, I picked the Nuggets to finish sixth in the Western Conference and said that their ceiling is the Western Conference Finals--but before the playoffs began I considered a season's worth of evidence and predicted that the Nuggets would reach the NBA Finals. Jokic is an all-time great, healthy Murray is an All-NBA caliber guard, the supporting cast is better than many people are willing to admit, and Michael Malone is a very good coach who knows how to accentuate his players' strengths while minimizing the impact of their weaknesses. It should not surprise anyone that this Denver team is beating an L.A. team that sleepwalked through the regular season, scapegoated Westbrook for problems caused by the frequent absences (and frequent reluctance to play in the paint) of Davis and James, and then traded Westbrook for some spare parts that cannot help in a playoff series against an elite team. It will be fascinating to see if Davis and James quit in game four, or if they try to extend this series to game five in Denver--but if the Nuggets are at the top of their game, the effort level of Davis and James may not matter.

Labels: Anthony Davis, Denver Nuggets, Jamal Murray, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic

posted by David Friedman @ 1:59 AM

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