On April 23, Beijing time, in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs G2, the Nuggets and Lakers contributed the most exciting game to fans after the start of this year's playoffs. The Lakers once led the Nuggets by 20 points, and the second quarter blasted out 31-20, occupying an overwhelming advantage, but I didn't expect the game to be ups and downs, the Nuggets narrowed the difference to only 10 points in the third quarter under the leadership of Jokic, and at the decisive moment in the fourth quarter, the Lakers captain fell into a scoring drought in time, and the Nuggets caught up, at the last moment, James shook down Pope, but did not hit the key three points, turned back Murray hit a hit, and directly killed the Lakers with a mid-range. The Nuggets defeated the Lakers 101-99 to make it 2-0.
The Lakers deserve respect and played the best performance since the 23-24 season, with 32 points and 11 rebounds, James 9 of 19 scored 26 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, and even Russell, who pulled his hips in the playoffs, went berserk, scoring 23 points on 7-of-11 three-pointers, Reaves with 9 points and 6 rebounds, and Hachimura with 3 points and 5 rebounds on 1-of-7, and was also the biggest sinner in the team's loss. The Lakers' bench is weak, with only 6 points from 4 players combined, and if they continue to be eliminated by the Nuggets this season, the Lakers will have to overhaul their roster in the summer.
Murray of the Nuggets made a meritorious service, playing nearly 40 minutes and cutting 20 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, shooting 9 of 24 and 0 of 5 three-pointers. Porter had 22 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals, Gordon had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, and Braun came off the bench with 10 points and 2 rebounds. Nuggets leader Jokic played 41 minutes, scoring 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists on 9-of-16 shooting, however, in the eyes of many fans, Jokic's performance was very average, and he was even beaten by Brother Thick Eyebrows.
It is worth mentioning that after this game, the 29-year-old MVP Jokic became the first person in NBA playoff history, and completely threw off the Spurs legend Duncan. According to media statistics, after cutting a super triple-double of 27+20+10, he has already chipped a 20+ rebound triple-double five times in the playoffs, and he is the first person in the NBA since the league merged in 1976. The Spurs' Duncan has done it twice, ranking second all-time, and in third place are Garnett and Westbrook, both in the playoffs once. And crazy stats like this, Jokic could even take it in this year's playoffs, and it's as easy for him as drinking water.
In NBA history, people like Chamberlain, Russell, Abdul-Jabbar, O'Neal, Duncan and others are all losers, and they are also the top 10 stars in history, but none of them are as comprehensive as Jokic. And Lakers legend James Worthy praised Jokic, believing that he is a combination of Magic and Abdul-Jabbar, which is also the most appropriate metaphor, Jokic has a passing vision like Magic, and his hook hand on the interior is also very similar to Abdul-Jabbar, and his shots are very soft.
If Jokic leads the team to win the championship this year, his historical status will enter the top 10 in history, there is no suspense about this, he has basically locked the regular season MVP, as long as he leads the team to win the championship, Mr. Jokic will reach the real peak moment this year, although he led the team to win the championship last year, but the regular season MVP was taken away by Embiid, and this year he is expected to win the MVP + championship + FMVP.