It was the same old song and dance to start the 2024 NBA Playoffs for the Lakers as they fell short against the Nuggets in Game 1 on Saturday, 114-103.
Despite holding a 12-point lead in the first half, their biggest over Denver in 2024, the Lakers slipped in the second half and the defending champions took full advantage, blowing the game open to start the playoffs with a win.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the charge for LA putting in dominant performances. LeBron scored 27 points with six rebounds, eight assists, one block and one steal. Anthony Davis scored 32 points with 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
The problem on Saturday was the rest of the Lakers. D’Angelo Russell struggled from range, going 1-9 from range and 6-20 overall for 13 points. Austin Reaves had 13 points on 5-9 shooting overall and 2-6 shooting from range.
Both teams jumped out to a fun pace with the Lakers grabbing a five-point lead at the first timeout. They were being aggressive and trying to limit Nikola Jokić’s playmaking.
LA was able to get Aaron Gordon in early foul trouble, letting LeBron take charge offensively with 10 early points, including going two for two from behind the arc.
Their lead jumped to seven, but the Nuggets started cutting the deficit. There was great energy shooting out of LA on all cylinders. At the end of the first, the Lakers bounced back and were up eight.
Beyond the arc pic.twitter.com/DJDj4m2TCK
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 21, 2024
The second quarter began with the Nuggets making a 3-pointer, but the Lakers answered with a few shots. They did a good job holding their own whenever the Nuggets attacked.
They extended their lead to 10 after AD started taking over offensively. Unfortunately, one of LA’s top defenders, Gabe Vincent, got into early foul trouble with three quick ones.
Even still, a fastbreak layup by LeBron took their lead to 12. The Lakers were locked in and their superstar duo, LeBron and AD, were leading the charge.
Michael Porter Jr. drilled a 3-pointer, followed by a foul on LeBron, which led to what the Nuggets hoped was a momentum shift. That indeed happened as they cut the deficit to four.
At the 2:51 mark, it was a tie game, but Rui Hachimura stopped the bleeding. Both teams started trading baskets, turning the game into an offensive show with a struggling defense. A long three from LeBron extended the Lakers lead to three at halftime.
Longest-made shot of his SEASON, LeBron James beats the buzzer from 33 feet pic.twitter.com/Yi9Rcf1y38
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 21, 2024
Former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope started the second half with a three to tie the game. Both teams started going back and forth, exchanging shots and the lead. The defense wasn’t pretty, but the offense was flowing.
LA had done a great job limiting Joker offensively, but the rest of the Nuggets picked up the slack, led by MPJ’s 16 points. They took the momentum and grabbed a three-point lead.
Denver was able to extend the lead to nine with a 3-pointer from KCP, which feels like a dagger to the hearts of Lakers fans any time he makes one. The game felt like it was slowly starting to get away from LA.
The lead extended to 14 and all the momentum was in the Nuggets' favor as the Lakers could not get help from the rest of their starting five or bench.
A poor showing from D’Angelo Russell wasn’t helping as the Lakers need him to find his shot if they want to win the series. At the end of the third, the Nuggets were up 89-78.
DLo leads the Lakers in shots (16) but has only made five. He's 2-for-11 since the first quarter.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 21, 2024
The fourth quarter began with the Nuggets taking a 15-point lead. It was going to take a huge miracle to get LA’s energy up. D’Lo made a three, but it did not provide any spark for the team. The Nuggets maintained most of the momentum with the purple and gold trying everything they could mount their famous classic fake comeback.
After AD made a pair of free throws, the Nuggets had a 10-point deficit. Taurean Prince made a nice layup, cutting the Lakers' deficit to eight. The Nuggets' momentum was slowly dying, and the comeback was starting with the deficit being trimmed to six.
AD put in an incredible effort to save the Lakers and was also anchoring the defense with a great block on Joker.
However, the deficit was back to 10 points as the Nuggets had their usual late-game execution. The Nuggets closed out the game as they typically do against the Lakers, picking up a ninth straight win against the purple and gold.
Key Takeaways:
This will likely be said throughout this series, but D’Lo needs to show up. He is an important player on this team. Once he starts lighting it up, the entire team feeds off that energy.
The Lakers’ supporting cast needs to be better. Rui and Austin need to find their shots. It’s a tall task, but they can do it.
You could call this a feel-out game, but all of these matchups have gone this exact way, so can we call it that?
The Lakers’ next game will be Game 2 on Monday against the Denver Nuggets at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
