Nuggets book team’s FIRST finals berth by clinching sweep of Lakers: Jokic has another triple-double

Nuggets book team’s FIRST finals berth by completing sweep of Lakers: Nikola Jokic has another triple-double in 113-111 Game 4 win as LA squanders LeBron James’ 40-point effort

The Lakers’ unexpected postseason run came to a screeching halt on Tuesday night as the Nuggets beat LA on its home court 113-111 to send the 2020 champions packing and move onto the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

The Lakers led by 15 at halftime but scored just 38 second half points as a virtuoso, 40-point performance from LeBron James was squandered. 

After a massive third quarter where Denver outscored the Lakers by 20, the visitors found themselves up six with less than three minutes to play in LA, but James and Co. clawed their way back to to tie the game with 1:13 remaining.

Nikola Jokic, though, would help Denver regain a 113-111 lead, hitting a layup with 51.1 seconds remaining, and Aaron Gordon blocked James at the buzzer to secure the historic win.

Jokic ended the game with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as Denver finished off a sweep of their opponents.

Nikola Jokic had yet another triple-double as he named the MVP of the Western Conference Finals

Aaron Gordon delivered a final block on LeBron James to clinch the sweep of the Lakers

Aaron Gordon delivered a final block on LeBron James to clinch the sweep of the Lakers

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone celebrates with the Western Conference Trophy

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone celebrates with the Western Conference Trophy

Jamal Murray also added 25 points for the newly-minted Western Conference champions, while Aaron Gordon had 22.

Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 and 13 respectively as well as every starter scored in double figures.

Jokic was named the MVP of the Western Conference Finals after the game.

‘It’s a collective effort for real,’ Jokic said after the game on ESPN. ‘We are growing as a team and a franchise.’

‘We can do anything together,’ Murray, who missed all of last season with an ACL injury, said.

‘As soon as we start to separate is when we struggle.’ 

Denver’s Finals appearance comes after top-three regular season finishes in four of the last five years, including a 53-29 mark this year, the best in the Western Conference.

And while the Nuggets are already in unchartered as a franchise, they’re still four wins away from reaching their ultimate goal.

‘Our players are hungry, they’re not satisficed. And they understand whether it’s Boston or Miami, we have much more work to do,’ Denver coach Michael Malone said.

LeBron James' 40-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist effort was not enough for the Lakers

LeBron James’ 40-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist effort was not enough for the Lakers

This is the first time the Nuggets have made the NBA Finals as a franchise

This is the first time the Nuggets have made the NBA Finals as a franchise

For the Lakers, Tuesday was a bitter end to a whirlwind season that saw them barely make the playoffs but end up as one of the NBA’s final four teams.

LA completely remade its roster at the trade deadline, parting ways with Russell Westbrook and adding D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Austin Reaves also cemented himself as one of the team’s top scoring options as the season wore on.

‘I just thanked them all,’ LA coach Darvin Ham said after the game. ‘It was great, the competitive spirit.’ 

‘Digging ourselves out of a deep deep hole… it was a hell of a year.’

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk