Davis scores 37 as Lakers romp past Nuggets
Bucks’ Antetokounmpo repeats as league MVP
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Anthony Davis had 37 points and 10 rebounds, LeBron James added 15 points and 12 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a 126-114 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Slow starters in the previous two rounds, the top-seeded Lakers put this one away in a hurry, opening a double-digit lead in the first half that they easily extended in the third quarter.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 18 points and Dwight Howard rejoined the rotation with 13 in a powerful return to the conference finals for the Lakers, who hadn’t been to the NBA’s final four since winning their last championship in 2010.
Los Angeles dropped Game 1 against both Portland and Houston before winning the next four games. The Lakers quickly knocked off any rust for another long layoff in the bubble against a Denver team that’s had things much tougher.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray each scored 21 points for the Nuggets, playing in the conference finals for the first time since the Lakers beat them in 2009.
Denver overcame 3-1 deficits against Utah and the Clippers, becoming the first team to do that twice in a postseason. The Nuggets immediately fell behind again, digging themselves a big hole when Jokic and Murray each picked up three fouls in the first half. Game 2 is Sunday. Davis scored 14 points in the first quarter, but the Nuggets shot nearly 64 percent, with Murray’s 3-pointer as time expired giving them a 38-36 lead.
Alex Caruso converted a threepoint play to open the second and start a 17-1 run by the Lakers to start the period and make it 53-39 before the Nuggets made their first field goal after more than five minutes.
The lead stayed right around there for the remainder of the half, as the
Lakers paraded to the foul line while Jokic, Murray and Paul Millsap went the bench with three fouls.
LA LAKERS 126, DENVER 114 DENVER (114) Grant 3-11 2-2 9, Millsap 2-5 0-0 5, Jokic 8-14 5-7 21, Harris 2-7 0-0 5, Murray 7-12 4-4 21, Bol 1-1 0-0 2, Craig 2-4 2-2 6, Dozier 3-5 0-0 6, Porter Jr. 3-10 7-8 14, Plumlee 4-6 1-1 9, Daniels 3-3 0-0 8, Mo.Morris 3-6 2-4 8. Totals 41-84 23-28 114. L.A. LAKERS (126) Davis 12-21 12-15 37, James 6-11 3-4 15, McGee 0-1 0-0 0, CaldwellPope 6-10 3-4 18, Green 3-10 1-1 8, Dudley 0-0 0-0 0, Kuzma 5-8 0-0 11, Ma.Morris 3-4 0-0 9, Smith 1-2 0-0 3, Howard 4-5 5-8 13, Caruso 1-3 3-5 5, Q.Cook 0-1 0-0 0, Rondo 3-7 0-0 7. Totals 44-83 27-37 126. Denver 38 21 20 35 —114 L.A. Lakers 36 34 33 23 —126 3-Point Goals—Denver 9-26 (Murray 3-5, Daniels 2-2, Harris 1-4, Grant 1-6, Porter Jr. 1-6, Craig 0-2), L.A. Lakers 11-26 (Ma.Morris 3-4, Caldwell-Pope 3-5, Kuzma 1-2, Smith 1-2, Davis 1-3, Green 1-4, Caruso 0-2, James 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Denver 37 (Porter Jr. 10), L.A. Lakers 35 (Davis 10). Assists—Denver 23 (Murray 5), L.A. Lakers 33 (James 12). Total Fouls—Denver 26, L.A. Lakers 28.
MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s historic year earned him a historic awards sweep.
The Milwaukee forward is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season, receiving that award Friday. He got the Defensive Player of the Year award earlier in these NBA playoffs.
Antetokounmpo, 25, becomes just the third player in league history to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, joining only Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.
“Michael Jordan, one of the best players who’s ever done it, if not the best,” Antetokounmpo said. “Hakeem, a guy that I look up to, he came from where I’m from, Nigeria, where I have roots. … Just being in the same sentence with them, that means a lot to me.”
Antetokounmpo received 85 votes from the 100-person panel of global sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league, plus the one additional vote granted by winning fan balloting. LeBron James got the other 15 first-place votes and finished second.
EAST FINALS: If there was a sliver of consolation for the Boston Celtics on Friday, it probably could have been found within the understanding that a 2-0 lead for the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals doesn’t guarantee anything. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday. The Celtics learned that two years ago against Cleveland. And Milwaukee learned the same last season against Toronto.
Dropping the first two games of the East finals to the Heat, obviously, isn’t the ideal scenario for the Celtics. But they’ve had chances to win both games — and might be getting Gordon Hayward back.