DENVER – Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone saluted his team’s composure in closing out victory, as Nikola Jokic produced a dominant display to hold off a late Los Angeles Lakers fightback and win their Western Conference Finals opener 132-126 on Tuesday.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic finished with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists to give top-seeded Denver a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven National Basketball Association series in front of a raucous Ball Arena home crowd.
“A lot of our guys are battle-tested, we’ve been in a ton of close games. I didn’t think there was any panic – there was poise. Our guys looked at one another and realised what we had to do to close this game out,” Malone said.
Jokic received offensive support from Jamal Murray, who finished with 31 points, while four other Denver players posted double-digit points tallies.
The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, who scored 40 points with 10 rebounds. LeBron James added 26 points with 12 rebounds, while Austin Reaves netted 23 points.
Denver led by 21 points in the third quarter but saw their lead whittled away to just three as the Lakers swept back into contention with a gutsy fourth-quarter fightback that ultimately fell just short.
“I’d rather clean things up after a win in the Western Conference Finals than after a loss, so I will take it. But much work to do,” Malone added of his team’s mini collapse.
Jokic agreed with his coach, adding: “In the first half, we were really good – controlled the game, controlled everything, controlled the pace, controlled the defence and then second half we lost it. But whether you win by one point or win by 20 at this time of year, it doesn’t matter – a win is a win.”
James, meanwhile, bemoaned the Lakers’ slow start.
“It took us a half to get into the game and that was pretty much the ball game right there,” he said.
“We have to understand that we have to start from the tip-off – and they punched us in the mouth to start. We have to play better, we have to rebound better. We need to be better in all facets of the game.”
Game 2 in the series takes place in Denver on Thursday.
Separately, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant apologised late on Tuesday after receiving days of backlash for a social media video that appeared to show him brandishing a gun in public for the second time in just over two months.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” he said in a statement.
“My words may not mean much right now but I take full accountability for my actions.
“I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on ESPN on the same day that he was “shocked” by the video, which Morant’s friend reportedly streamed live on Instagram.
The guard first faced criticism in March, when a live video on his Instagram account showed him waving around a firearm in a Colorado nightclub.
The NBA suspended him for eight games.
Morant also apologised then and vowed to “work on better methods of dealing with stress” and went to a counselling facility in Florida.
Recordings of the new video went viral on Sunday and Silver said the league was investigating it.
“The videos have been grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst,” he said. AFP, REUTERS
