Jokic leads Nuggets past James, Lakers in playoff opener
Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 12 rebounds, and the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets powered past LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 in their Western Conference playoff opener Saturday night.
Two other Nuggets players posted double-double — Jamal Murray (22 points, 10 assists) and Anthony Gordon (12 points, 11 rebounds) — and Michael Porter Jr. came close with 19 points and eight boards.
James had 27 points for L.A. and Anthony Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds, but the Lakers lost to the Nuggets for the ninth consecutive time and Denver handed James just his fourth loss in 17 first-round openers.
Kentavious CaldwellPope, who scored all 12 of his points after halftime, made a trio of 3-pointers in a 13-0 run the Nuggets used to seize control in the third quarter.
The Nuggets entered these playoffs with bull'seyes on their backs but supremely confident of their chances to repeat after tying a franchise record with 57 regular season wins, four more than last year. KNICKS 111, 76ERS 104 >> Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart each scored 22 points, Deuce McBride led a huge effort by New York's backups with 21 and the Knicks beat the Philadelphia in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
McBride outscored the 76ers by himself with 13 points in the second quarter, when Joel Embiid had to leave after appearing to reinjure his surgically repaired left knee on a dunk. He returned and rallied the 76ers into the lead in the second half, but Josh Hart hit a couple big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks pull it out.
Hart also had 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who had lost Game 1 the last three times they opened a series at home. They host Game 2 on Monday.
Embiid finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 33 points.
Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench for 13 points and Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks' former starter at center who has been a reserve since returning from ankle surgery, had eight points and 12 rebounds while playing 30 minutes and leading the effort against Embiid.
Embiid was limited to 39 games this season and missed nearly two months after having left meniscus surgery Feb. 6.
CAVS 97, MAGIC 83 >> Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Jarrett Allen had 18 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Evan Mobley added 16 points for Cleveland, which got bullied and bounced in just five games by the New York Knicks in the 2023 postseason.
Orlando's Paolo Banchero scored 24 points in his playoff debut, but had nine turnovers.
T'WOLVES 120, SUNS 95 >> Anthony Edwards scored 18 of his 33 points in the third quarter and had nine rebounds to carry the Minnesota Timberwolves in a tone-setting victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting and Rudy Gobert locked down the lane with 14 points, 16 rebounds and constant shot-altering defense to lead the Wolves to their first Game 1 home win in the playoffs in 20 years.
Kevin Durant scored 31 points on 11-for-17 shooting to lead the Suns.