Welcome in to the full recap of Game 1. The Lakers typically have given away the first game of each playoff matchup in the bubble. But tonight, they showed that they meant business being a series win away from the NBA Finals. They manhandled the young and determined Nuggets in a 114-126 win to take a 1-0 series lead.
First off, I want to dedicate this post to my late dad. Today is his birthday. I lost him fairly recently and this is a first birthday without him. He too was a die hard Laker fan since Magic, Kareem, and Showtime. Somewhere he is smiling with the Lakers winning on his special day. Happy birthday dad and I miss you everyday.
Onto the game, did I foretell everything in my preview on this game? I said the key for the Lakers was to slow down the two-man game of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. They had to be physically upfront with Jokic especially and they had the perfect counter with AD. And tonight, this was a flawless gameplan to slowing down those two. Though they still played well scoring, they didn't have too much fun on the defensive side of the ball. Both of them got into foul trouble. The Lakers did a nice job sealing off Jokic's passing lanes as he was limited to just 2 assists. Denver's role players felt the lack of ball movement. The Nuggets' offense was just stagnant all game tonight.
Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard were like Batman and Robin stopping the Joker from going on a rampage. I'll get to AD's impact in a second. Dwight didn't play in the Houston series sans Game 1, but was reinserted back into the lineup and made an immediate impact. He kept Jokic in check and was very active in using his hands, crashing the boards and forcing the Nuggets to foul often. Final stat line for Dwight: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 16 minutes off the bench.
The bench unit was solid tonight. They outplayed the Nuggets' 2nd unit. Rajon Rondo has been very instrumental in getting the unit in tact. Rondo had 7 points, 9 assists, and 2 steals. To add to it ZERO turnovers. I thought he handled the ball well and put the Lakers' cutters in best positions to get a high percentage shot. Markieff Morris stayed hot from 3-point land with 9 points on 3-4 shooting from deep. Alex Caruso did all the little things on the defensive end, despite no eye-opening numbers on the stats sheet.
For the starters, KCP had a great game scoring-wise with 16 points. Danny Green struggled with his shot, but still showed up on the defensive end with 2 steals and a block. Now we get to the main event: Anthony Davis, MVP of the game. I said in the preview, the Nuggets are facing a skilled big that has no limitations on both ends unlike what the Jazz and Clippers have. All eyes would be on AD this series. Tonight, LeBron and Rondo found him early and often in the paint and rewarded the Lakers with 37 points and 10 rebounds on 12-21 shooting. He may have struggled on the free throw line, but the Nuggets had their hands full on the 'Brow all game long.
In the 2nd quarter, we had a little bit of a scare with LeBron as he rolled his ankle on Jerami Grant as he drove to the basket. That will be something to monitor as the series progresses. But it didn't affect him too much as he was able to get up and throw down in spurts during this game. He was fine tonight, but the next few days, we'll see how that ankle is. The King finished with 15 points and 10 assists and left the game early at the 2:05 mark of the 4th quarter to get treatment on that ankle.
The Nuggets ran into a wall tonight and the Lakers' plethora of veterans with Conference Finals experience was on full display. Denver is not facing the Jazz or the Clippers anymore. This is a Laker team that is all business. Granted, we can't underestimate this team. The Lakers knew they were a 2nd half team and made the proper adjustments tonight to ensure the Nuggets don't go on a mega run in the 2nd half. It especially helps when Jokic and Murray were hampered by foul trouble. We should expect this Nuggets team to respond in Game 2. Lakers need to stay level-headed and cautious to keep this young team to stay down. I'll see you guys on Sunday for that game.
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