The Denver Nuggets ended LeBron James’ 40,000-point party in the NBA by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 124-114 on Saturday night (2).
The one who opened the scoring on the veteran’s historic night was Nikola Jokic, who scored two baskets in a row, making it four to zero.
But the owners of the Crypto.com Arena quickly turned the tide with a nine-to-nil run, and LeBron scored none of those points, which raised concerns among the public for 40,000 points. Yet, LeBron didn’t appear to be in a rush; he just made his first basket six minutes into the first quarter, which finished with the Lakers leading by six points.
With his side controlling the game, LeBron scored his first basket in the second quarter to finally reach the 40,000 point milestone. Michael Porter Jr. The Nuggets couldn’t take the lead in the score until halftime, when they were eight points behind, because of the joyous atmosphere in Los Angeles.
HISTORY. 👑 https://t.co/wKcT0F54Op pic.twitter.com/GiixG5yVI6
— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2024The Denver team came back from the break a little more aggressive and with a better rhythm in attack and even managed to close the gap, but in the first minutes, they were unable to even tie the score — this only happened in the final three minutes of the period.
For the first time since Jokic’s two baskets opened the game’s scoring, the Nuggets took the lead again, but went into the final quarter with the score tied at 89. The main change that enabled the visitors to react was the marking on top of the Serbian, which weakened considerably after the break.
Jokic fades off one foot to beat the shot clock 😱
DEN-LAL Live on ABC pic.twitter.com/aoNBcMXfZS
— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2024The Nuggets opened up a slight lead in the first five final minutes, but as expected, LeBron James, on his historic night, turned it around for the Lakers and, once again, drove the fans crazy.
But the joy was short-lived; Nikola Jokic had a sequence of hits in the final minutes and put the Denver team x points ahead. Furthermore, with 100% success rate, Porter Jr. also contributed to his team’s victory in Los Angeles.
Nuggets x Lakers: statistics
Denver Nuggets
Michael Porter Jr.: 25 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists
Aaron Gordon: 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists
Nikola Jokic: 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists
Christian Braun: 2 points, 5 rebounds and two assists
Jamal Murray: 24 points, six rebounds and 11 assists
Los Angeles Lakers
Rui Hachimura: 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists
LeBron James: 26 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists
Anthony Davis: 17 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists
Austin Reaves: 19 points, 2 rebounds and 14 assists
D’Angelo Russell: 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists
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