May 17, 2023 | Bakersfield, Los Angeles, NBA, Sports, Valleys

Laker rally falls short in opener

LeBron James had 26 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 9 of 16 from the field. He missed all four of his 3-point attempts. Reaves added 23 points and 8 assists while shooting 5 of 9 from long distance.

Jokić had no trouble navigating the Nuggets’ offense while being guarded by Anthony Davis for much of Game 1. (David Zalubowski/AP)

By Earl Heath, Contributing Sports Writer

A slow start by the L.A. LAKERS put them in a hole they nearly climbed out of as they fell to the Denver Nuggets in the opener of the Western Conference finals.

Nikola Jokic recorded an emphatic triple-double, tallying 34 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists and 2 blocks. He outrebounded the Lakers by himself in the first half. The Lakers countered with Anthony Davis, who posted 18 points at halftime and finished with a game-high 40 to go with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. It just wasn’t quite enough to lift the Lakers to a dramatic comeback.

The Nuggets looked well in control of a dominant victory while holding a 21-point third-quarter lead. But the Lakers answered with a fourth-quarter rally that included a 9-0 run to cut Denver’s lead to 124-121. They stayed within 3 points into the final minute of the game. But a pair of Jokić free throws with 26.3 seconds left extended the lead back to 5 to keep the Lakers at bay.

Both teams were hot from the field. Denver shot 54.9% from the floor including a 15 of 32 (46.9%) effort from 3-point distance. The Lakers shot 54.8% from the field while connecting on 11 of 24 (45.8%) threes.

The Nuggets are up 1-0 but that means nothing to Laker Coach Darwin Ham

“There’s no doubt in my mind when we come out for Game 2, we’ll be ready. We’ll go back and do what we need to do for our team physically. Start the recovery process now. Break down the film. Watch what we need to watch,” said Ham. “Thank God it’s the best of seven and it’s not the NCAA tournament, you know. It’s the first to four. We’ll be OK, trust me.”

ADD LAKERS: In the previous series for the Los Angeles Lakers, it was 38-year-old LeBron James who set the tone and led the way. LeBron hit 10-of-14 shots to finish with 30 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 122-101 in Game 6 to eliminate the defending champions and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

In his 20th NBA season, James continues to surpass all expectations for what he should be capable of at this stage of his career. It is even more impressive when you remember that he is also still dealing with a foot injury.