The Denver Nuggets will advance to the 2023 NBA Finals as they sweep the Los Angeles Lakers and overcome a 40-pts game by Lebron James.
The Lakers which lead most of the 1st half and lead as much as 15 points before the Denver Nuggest put the clamp down on the Lakers to limit them to only 19 points in the 3rd qtr while scoring 39 points to take over the game.
"The most satisfying part about the journey is who I'm on the journey with." pic.twitter.com/kE5xPQnw3f
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 23, 2023
Lebron James who played all but 4.3 seconds of the game at the end of the first half. James was flirting with a triple-double 21 points in the first quarter, finishing with 40 points, 10 rebs and 9 assists. Lebron James had the change to put the game to OT but was stopped by Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray as he drive to the basket in the closing seconds of the game.
Anthony Davis also sensational with his 21 points, 14 rebs, 1 steal and 3 blocks but did not get any help from the rest of the team aside from the 17 points from Austin Reaves.
Lebron James had nothing but praises to the Nuggets.
“Me and AD were just talking in the locker room (and) we came to the consensus this is one of the best teams, if not the best team, we’ve played together for all four years…Just well-orchestrated, well put together. They have scoring. They have shooting. They have playmaking. They have smarts. They have length. They have depth. And one thing about their team, when you have a guy like Jokic, who as big as he is but also as cerebral as he is, you can’t really make many mistakes versus a guy like that.”
Here is Lebron James full postgame interview.
Nikola Jokic lead the Nuggets with his eighth triple-double of the playoffs; Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, include the 3 blocks and 1 steal he made on the defensive end. Jamal Murray scored 25 points and 5 assists, helping Jokic overcome James’ 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit.
This will be Denver Nuggets’ first trip to the NBA finals and first time sweeping a playoff series. Unless Boston Celtics made a miracolous run to win the next 4 games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Denver will host Miami Heat to open the NBA Finals, starting June 1.
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