Nikola Jokic passed Wilt Chamberlain as he recorded his eighth playoff triple-double (30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists) in 2023 – the most in one playoff season as the Denver Nuggets came from behind to beat the LA Lakers 113-111 in Game 4. The Nuggets won the series 4-0 and booked their maiden NBA Finals berth in the history of franchise.
LeBron James, however, ensured that the Nuggets earn their win as he scored 8,000 career playoff point and set the record for most points in any half in a playoff game as he raced to 31 point in the first two quarters.
LeBron runs the show in 1Q
Lakers superstar LeBron James ran the show in the first quarter, scoring 21 of 34 points LA amassed. James, looking determined to make the game count, drained all four of his attempted threes and went 7-for-9 in FGs as Los Angeles took a six-point lead in the first quarter of the game.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the enforcer for the Nuggets, scoring 10 points including a three 3Ps. Apart from him, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon scored six points each as Denver scored 28 first quarter points.
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Vintage LeBron owns Nuggets – Career high in playoff half, 8000 career playoff points
LeBron James showed up in playoff mode for the first time in the series as he added 10 more points to his name to go at 31 by the half-time apart from four assists and four rebounds he took by the end of second quarter.
Denver kept fighting with Jokic scoring 13 and Murray scoring nine points in the quarter. All the efforts by Denver, however, fell short before James who just looked unstoppable and ran the game on it own.
Determined to keep the series going, Lakers were leading by 15 points after the first two quarters as the box score read 73-58 in their favour.
Real Denver shows up in 3Q
In a complete turnaround of the game, the Nuggets not only wiped off the entire LA lead of 15 points but now lead by five points with the scores reading 94-89 in their favour. The Lakers simply had no answer to all guns blazing Nuggets as they started with a 9-2 run which turned into 18-4 and then 20-8 with almost half the quarter gone.
Jokic had eight points in the quarter as he raced to 23 in total and Jamal Murray also reaching 20-point mark. LeBron, on the other side, kept scoring for LA but could add just six in 3Q as Denver scored 36 against Lakers’ 16 points.
Battle of will in 4Q
Both the teams went neck-to-neck in 4Q, scoring 13 points each with just about 3 and a half minutes to go in the game. Denver, however, had the lead of five points and they held onto it dearly. The Lakers kept pushing and pushing and ties the game first at 102 each and then at 111 each, both time with FTs by Anthony Davis. Jokic’s 2-point lay-up then proved enough to Denver and too much for the Lakers.
Top scorers of Game 4
LeBron James top scored in the game from both sides with 40 points and 10 rebounds. Apart from him, Austin Reaves scored 17, Dennis Schroder scored 13 and Anthony Davis chipped in with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. For the Nuggets, apart from Jokic’s triple-double, Jamal Murray dropped 25 and Aaron Gordon scored 22.
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