On April 23, Beijing time, the first round of the NBA playoffs continued, and the Lakers challenged the Nuggets away, and in the series G1, the Lakers once led by double digits, and were finally reversed by the Nuggets in the second half. This game is very crucial, and if the Lakers continue to lose, the whole process will be similar to last year's Western Conference finals, and even if they return to their home court, they will be very passive.
In the first quarter, Porter hit a three-pointer first, and then Russell responded strongly, Porter continued to score, and Russell scored consecutive three-pointers, and the two teams opened the scoring by Porter and Russell. The Lakers are getting better and better, gradually widening the difference, and after the thick eyebrows scored 2 points under the basket, the Lakers led the Nuggets 22-11. The team was in trouble, and Jokic scored 8 points in a row, but he couldn't prevent it at all, and after Jokic made two free throws, the first quarter ended, and the Nuggets chased 24-28, trailing by only 4 points.
In the second quarter, the score was very close in the first half of the quarter, but this was not good for the Lakers, if it still played to the critical moment, the Nuggets scored more points, and the physical fitness of James and thick eyebrows was a big problem. Bushy Eyebrows scored two points inside, Prince hit a three-pointer, and the Lakers opened up the gap again, leading by eight points at 45-37, and suppressed the defending champion in the first half for the second game in a row, and the Lakers were an underrated team. Subsequently, the Lakers went crazy, the Nuggets looked like they were going to collapse, Lao Zhan scored 2+1, and the point difference had come to 12 points. Russell hit a three-pointer, and at halftime, the Lakers led by 15 points at 59-44, which was a huge advantage, and as long as they played well in the third quarter, the Lakers had a very good chance of winning. Thick eyebrows cut 24 points and 6 rebounds in the half, directly blowing up Mr. Yoo, hitting 11 in the half, setting a new personal playoff halftime record, and Russell scored 18 points on 6-of-7 three-pointers.
There was another very interesting scene in the first half, James broke through to make a foul, Murray complained that there was no foul, and then James took the initiative to let Nuggets coach Malone challenge, and the challenge was successful. Judging from the slow motion, when Murray cut the ball, he did hit the ball, and Lao Zhan had an elbow raising movement.
In the third quarter, the thick eyebrows continued to exert their strength on the inside, and Reaves hit a three-pointer, and the Lakers led by 20 points. The Nuggets' three-point shot was inaccurate, and Porter Jr.'s empty three-pointer hit a succession, but the Lakers fell into a long scoring drought, scoring 0-of-9 in 5 minutes, and the Nuggets narrowed the gap to 9 points. The Nuggets' performance improved in the quarter, but the Lakers still took the initiative, and at the end of the third quarter, the Lakers led by 10 points at 79-69.
In the fourth quarter, the Nuggets slowly simmered and closed the juice, and the difference was only 5 points after hitting 8-3. At the critical moment, Murray found his touch and scored 4 points in a row, James hit 2 three-pointers in a row to stabilize the situation, Lao Zhan is 39 years old after all, and then there was a mistake in the breakthrough, and Jokic hit a basket. In the final two minutes, Porter Jr. scored a three-pointer to tie the game at 95-95, and then Russell hit a layup to help the Lakers regain the lead. Then Murray hit both free throws, James broke through to score a layup, Murray hit a jumper, and then James missed a three-pointer, Murray killed, and the Nuggets defeated the Lakers 101-99, leading 2-0 and completing a 20-point reversal.
The Nuggets had 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, Porter had 22 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist, Gordon had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Pope had 6 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists, and Murray had 20 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. The Lakers' thick eyebrows went berserk, cutting 32 points and 11 rebounds, James 26 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists, and Russell 23 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists to complete the redemption.