CHICAGO - Up 49-37 with 6:05 left before halftime, the Los Angeles Lakers were in a great spot to snap an eight-game losing streak against the Nuggets and steal Game One of their NBA opening-round series.
From that point on, though, Denver went on a 77-54 run to frustrate Los Angeles as the Nuggets began their title defense on a mile-high note.
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Here's a post-mortem on the Lakers' post-season meltdown.
Anthony Davs played for 45 minutes. LeBron James, who'll turn 40 this October, logged 41. The heavy load didn't bode well for Davis and more so for this version of LeBron who now has 56,597 playing minutes worth of wear and tear on his knees.
A sequence in the final 1:10 of play said it all.
After a missed LeBron field goal, Davis, hands on knees, lingered under the Lakers' basket as the Nuggets ran on transition. James, meanwhile, got beat by Nikola Jokic in the race to the paint where the Joker made an easy 2.
The Nuggets didn't just outscore the Lakers, 114-103, they wore them down.
THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE.
Denver took a 49-40 edge in rebounding, including 15-6 on the offensive boards. The Nuggets had more assists - 27-22 - and six less turnovers than LA's 12. They also shot more threes, 15-8, a massive plus 21 advantage.
The Nuggets' bench produced 17 points while deploying 5 subs who played for a combined 56 minutes. The Lakers, in comparison, only had four reserves playing for a combined 45 minutes and scoring only 11.
Guess who's the deeper team?
And we haven't even gotten to Jokic yet.
Well, the two-time MVP dropped another near triple-double like it was casual Friday - 32 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. There's just no one - Davis included - who can stop the Serbian sensation.
And, oh by the way, the rest of the Nuggets starters pooled together 65 points behind their leader and best player.
It's a long series and a lot of basketball is left to be played, but now that the Nuggets have beaten LA nine in a row, what are the odds of the Lakers winning four of the next six?
Slim to none, and slim just left the Ball Arena in Denver on Sunday.
FASTBREAK. All the home teams and higher seeds swept Sunday's games. And their respective stars delivered.
Donovan Mitchell had 30 points to lead No.4 seed Claveland past No.5-ranked Orlando, 97-83. Mitchell missed 27 regular season games due to injuries but when healthy, Clevaldn can make a lot of noise.
Anthony Edwards paced No.3 Minnesota with 33 in a win over No.6 Phoenix while Jalen Brunson finished with 22 as the No,2 Knicks outlasted No.7 Philadelphia, 111-104.
What a smashing start to Round One of the 2024 NBA playoffs.
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