Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 12 rebounds as the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets defeated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 in their Western Conference playoff opener Saturday night.
Two other Nuggets players recorded double-doubles: Jamal Murray (22 points, 10 assists) and Anthony Gordon (12 points, 11 rebounds), while Michael Porter Jr. came close with 19 points and eight rebounds.
L.A.’s James had 27 points and Anthony Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds, but the Lakers lost for the ninth time in a row, as Denver gave James only his fourth loss in 17 first-round openers.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored all 12 points after halftime, hit three 3-pointers during the Nuggets’ 13-0 run to take control in the third quarter.
Porter performed admirably on the court, as coach Michael Malone predicted, following a difficult week for his family, which saw one younger brother, Coban Porter, sentenced to six years in prison for a fatal drunken driving accident on Friday, and another, former Toronto Raptors guard Jontay Porter, barred from the NBA for betting on basketball and disclosing confidential information to other bettors.
“There’s so much going on off the court for Michal Porter Jr. and his family,” Malone said in a statement. “This allows him to get back to doing something not only that he loves but also that he does very, very well.”
The Nuggets began the playoffs with bull’s-eyes on their backs, but they were confident in their chances of repeating after tying a franchise record with 57 regular-season wins, four more than the previous year.
Jokic, who stars in a teaser for “Despicable Me 4” in which he seeks therapy because the Minions believe he is their boss, arrived at Ball Arena dressed in a black-and-gray striped scarf and gray pants, resembling Felonius Gru, the lead character from the film franchise.
James should have arrived dressed as Vector because he was the ideal villain for the sold-out crowd that drowned out the Lakers’ pregame introductions.
James capped off a fantastic first half in which he scored 19 points with a 32-foot 3-pointer to snap a 57-all tie after the Lakers blew a 12-point lead.
Denver’s 13-0 run in the third quarter threatened to make it a laugher, but the Nuggets extended their lead to 15 in the fourth. But James converted two free throws, Davis had a three-point play, and Taurean Prince scored to cut the Lakers’ deficit to 96-88 with 7:17 left.
The closest they got to the Nuggets was 103-96 before Porter made a three and Jokic dunk off a turnover by James, increasing Denver’s advantage to 12.
The Nuggets are attempting to become the first club to successfully defend an NBA championship since the Golden State Warriors did so six years ago.
Denver swept the Lakers in last season’s Western Conference playoffs, the Nuggets’ penultimate step before winning their first NBA championship.
The Lakers have not defeated the Nuggets since December 16, 2022. They’ll try again Monday night in Game 2 at Ball Arena, where Denver is currently 34-8 this season.
James lost for only the 18th time in 80 first-round matches. He has lost a playoff opener for the third time in his six seasons with the Lakers, and fourth overall. His club also lost series openers in the first round of 2018 (Indiana over Cleveland), 2020 (Portland over the Lakers), and 2021 (Phoenix over the Lakers).