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Ohm Youngmisuk, editor of ESPN
DENVER — Nikola Jokić declares that he doesn’t have a strategy in mind for fighting Anthony Davis.
But it didn’t take long in Game 1 on Tuesday night for Los Angeles Lakers to see Jokic’s blueprints. The Denver nuggets‘ the superstar was extremely aggressive, reintroducing himself to LeBron James and Davis on the Western Conference finals stage, but this time as a two-time MVP at the start of his game.
Jokic hit his third straight brace this season in the third quarter, and finished with 34 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists and two saves to help the Nuggets win 132-126 at the Ball. Arena.
“He can do it [look] really simple,” Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon talk about Jokic taking whatever the defense gives him. “[But also] he makes it look magical at the same time. Ridiculous.”
Jokic was a force, especially on the glass, where he had six counter-attacks in the first quarter alone. The Lakers had a total of six recoveries in the inning as a team. At halftime, Jokic beat the entire Lakers with a score of 16-13.
When fouled, he looked as aggressive as ever, putting the ball on the floor and hitting Davis hard and fast at any of the other Lakers defenders. He even posted Davis, twirling left and swerving into the baseline to land a pitch at the Lakers big man.
“I thought when he felt one-on-one, facing up and moving towards the basket, [Jokic used] that underestimated the sportiness to finish in traffic. It’s great to see,” said Denver coach Michael Malone.
“He’s going to continue to have to do it at a high level. But with his early recovery, I think there’s a point in this game where we recovered, I think, 22-3. So, We only impose will on the glass.”
By the end of the third half, Jokic had 31 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists to give Denver a 21-point lead. He showed the Lakers how dominant he was in the second round, as he averaged 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists while shooting from distance 59.4 % compared to competitors. phoenix sun.
“I feel like the only difference is ‘Bron can jump higher than Jokic,'” Nuggets Guardian and former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said when asked about the difference between Jokic and James’s flexible doubles games. “That’s the only difference I can see. I just love playing with Jokic who’s willing to pass the ball, the big man dominates there. Just seeing him do what he does, everyone else will follow.”
Jokic even buried a three-pointer 28 feet back in Davis’ face at the third-round whistle that made Davis smile and a shrug from the Nuggets big man.
“Oh, sometimes luck is on our side,” Jokic said. “Of course, it was a crazy shot. It’s not something I’m working on, but I’m glad it worked out.”
Jokic made 12 of his first 15 shots, but his team was hot as well. Denver shot 56% and 12/24 for the first 3 to 3 quarters.
However, the Lakers came back like a hurricane. Coach Darvin Ham gave Rui Hachimura on Jokic to allow Davis to roam the highlands for defense instead of taking on Jokic’s entire duties. After taking a 14 lead with 6:33 left, the Lakers cut the deficit to three times in the final 2:18.
But Jokic hit Caldwell-Pope (21 points) to hit a finger roll with a score of 1:53. When the Lakers came back in round three, Jamal Murray (31 points) steals the ball and Jokic makes four free throws to end the game.
Davis fought against Jokic, finishing with 40 points and 10 rebounds. And James just missed his own triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists.
According to research by ESPN Stats & Information, Jokic is the first player to score as many 30-point triples while shooting 70 percent from the field in post-season NBA history. And he has done that in each of his last two games.
Jokic may have to play even better in Game 2 after the Lakers came back in Game 1.
“I’d rather clean things up after winning the Western Conference finals than lose,” Malone said. “So we’ll take it, but there’s more work to be done.”
