NBA Opening Night: Nuggets Raise Banner, Sink Lakers
In a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference Finals, the Denver Nuggets led most of the way en route to posting a 119-107 win over the L.A. Lakers on NBA Opening Night. The Nuggets raised the franchise's first championship banner, distributed their championship rings, and then sank the highly touted Lakers. Nikola Jokic was by far the best player on the court, leading both teams in scoring (29 points on 12-22 field goal shooting), rebounding (13) and assists (11); the Nuggets' superstar posted his 106th career regular season triple double, just one behind Jason Kidd and LeBron James for fourth place on the all-time list behind only Russell Westbrook (198), Oscar Robertson (181), and Magic Johnson (138). Jamal Murray added 21 points and six assists, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points against his former team. LeBron James led the Lakers with 21 points on 10-16 field goal shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds and passing for five assists. Taurean Prince scored 18 points, and Anthony Davis had just 17 points on 6-17 field goal shooting. In the second half, Davis shot 0-6 from the field and did not score a point.
For most of the time since the Denver Nuggets joined the NBA in 1976 as part of the ABA-NBA merger, the Nuggets aspired to be legitimate rivals to the L.A. Lakers but consistently fell short. Now, the Lakers can only hope to be legitimate rivals to the Nuggets. The Nuggets swept the Lakers 4-0 in the 2023 playoffs in the midst of a 16-4 playoff run capped off by defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, and there is no indication that the Lakers closed the gap during the offseason.
The Nuggets led 34-20 at the end of the first quarter, and after the first 12 minutes Jokie already had 10 points and five rebounds. The Nuggets shot 14-23 (.609) from the field, while the Lakers shot just 8-25 (.320) from the field. After falling behind by as many as 18 points (42-24), the Lakers rallied to trail by nine (63-54) at halftime. In the first half, Jokic had 19 points on 8-14 field goal shooting plus nine rebounds and two assists. Davis led the Lakers with 17 first half points but he only had one rebound. James (10 points on 5-9 field goal shooting) was the game's only other double figure scorer at intermission.
The Lakers opened the third quarter with a 4-0 burst, but the Nuggets extended their lead to 87-71 late in the third quarter before the Lakers went on a 9-0 run to trim the margin to 87-80 by the end of the stanza. The Lakers won the third quarter despite shooting just 10-24 (.417) from the field because the Nuggets squandered too many possessions by committing six turnovers and five fouls.
Both teams shot well in a high scoring fourth quarter, but the Nuggets led by at least 10 points for the final 5:02 of the game, and the outcome was never in doubt.
Regardless of all of the talk about how much the Lakers improved after trading Russell Westbrook last season, and then improved even more after revamping their roster during the offseason, the reality is that the Lakers are very good when LeBron James and Anthony Davis are engaged and energetic at both ends of the court, and very ordinary otherwise.
As Shaquille O'Neal said after the game, the Nuggets are the story here, not the Lakers; the Nuggets are the defending champions and they look as formidable as ever: Jokic remains an MVP-caliber player, and Murray is an excellent number two option who can be a number one option at times, while starters Aaron Gordon (15 points, seven rebounds, five assists), Michael Porter Jr. (12 points, 12 rebounds), and Caldwell-Pope are consistent contributors. Perhaps the Nuggets' bench is thin, but we will not know that for sure until we see how productive the young players will be over the course of the regular season and playoffs.
Labels: Anthony Davis, Denver Nuggets, Jamal Murray, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic
posted by David Friedman @ 11:46 PM
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