The Los Angeles Lakers got off to an ideal start Saturday against the Denver Nuggets. LeBron James looked like the best player on the floor. Aaron Gordon, one of Denver's key defenders, was in foul trouble early. D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis both made shots. In the second quarter, he had a double-digit increase.
And like every game in last year's Western Conference Finals, it didn't matter.
After early struggles, the Nuggets dominated the Lakers and won Game 1, 114-103. They looked a lot like the team that won the first championship in franchise history last season in Denver, which is bad for many teams, not just the Lakers.
However, the situation has been dire for the Lakers, who have lost nine straight to Denver from the regular season to the playoffs. The last time they beat the Nuggets was on December 16, 2022.
Nikola Jokic once again dominated with efficiency, posting 32 points on 15-of-23 shooting, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and zero turnovers. When he was on the floor, the Nuggets did things like:
The Nuggets committed four total turnovers.
It's fair to say the Lakers at least looked like they had a plan. They played the Nuggets' backcourt more aggressively than most teams would dare, and tried especially hard to make Jamal Murray uncomfortable. They also made sure Denver wasn't caught off guard in transition. For a while, it all led to missed shots for the Nuggets.
The tide changed late in the second quarter, when the Lakers took their largest lead of the game to 12 points. The Nuggets responded with his 14-2 run to tie the game and really got going in the third quarter.
By that time, the Lakers looked exhausted and started making some bad decisions. Some possessions ended the way Denver wanted, including a 3-pointer by Davis, but it took a while for the Lakers to get their feet back under them. They managed to cut the lead to single digits midway through the fourth quarter, but were unable to close it further.
As in the previous series, Russell looked unplayable against a team fully equipped to utilize him offensively and block open shots defensively. He finished the night with 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting (1-of-9 from deep). It's not hard to imagine the Lakers reducing his playing time for Game 2 and increasing the playing time of Gabe Vincent, who tends to be more defensive.
There's no denying that's what the Lakers aimed for in this game. James played nearly 41 minutes and Davis logged 44 minutes. Their reward was resting a Nuggets squad that showed little rust after a six-game layoff, and it won't be easy from there.
