Lakers close in on trip to Finals

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Los Angeles Lakers are a victory away from returning to the NBA Finals — and only another comeback from 3-1 down by the Denver Nuggets can stop them.

Anthony Davis scored 34 points, LeBron James added 26 and the Lakers beat the Nuggets, 114-108, on Thursday night in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Davis got the Lakers off to a fast start with his scoring and James helped them finish it with his defense, forcing Jamal Murray into some late misses after the guard had kept the Nuggets in it with an array of high-difficulty baskets.

James added nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Lakers pulled down 12 offensive rebounds for a whopping 25-6 advantage in second-chance points.

Game 5 is Saturday, when the Lakers can reach the NBA Finals for the first time in a decade.

The Nuggets will be facing elimination for the seventh time in the bubble. They were down 3-1 against Utah in the first round and climbed out of the same hole against the Los Angeles Clippers in the West semifinals.

But they couldn’t come back in this game, getting within one point in the opening minute of the fourth quarter but constantly getting turned back from there by a key stop or rebound by the Lakers.

The Lakers have 16 championships, one behind Boston for the most in NBA history, but they haven’t played for one since they won the title in 2010.

The Lakers started Dwight Howard at center and he scored 12 points and added 11 rebounds, helping put Nikola Jokic into foul trouble.

Murray scored 32 points with eight assists, but Jokic finished with just 16 points and seven rebounds.