LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers finally cracked the Denver Nuggets’ mastery of this rivalry and extended their playoff lives for at least another game.
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, LeBron James led the way.
James scored 30 points, Anthony Davis added 25 points and 23 rebounds, and the Lakers avoided postseason elimination with a 119-108 victory over Denver in Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday (PH time).
D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves scored 21 points apiece for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who snapped their 11-game losing streak against the defending NBA champions with their first win over the Nuggets since December 2022.
A series with clear patterns and rhythms finally changed in the Lakers’ favor. For the fourth straight game, Los Angeles took a double-digit lead before the Nuggets rallied in the second half behind Nikola Jokic.
But for the first time in this series, the Lakers didn’t wilt under the defending champions’ pressure. The 39-year-old James scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-8 shooting, again carrying the Lakers late in his 21st NBA season.
Game 5 is Tuesday (PH time) in Denver.
“We’ve given ourselves another lifeline, and it’s a one-game series for us,” James said. “Monday’s game is the most important game of the season for us, and we understand that.”
Denver swept Los Angeles out of the Western Conference finals last season, but the current Lakers responded to this 0-3 deficit with a performance more worthy of a team that rolled into the postseason with 12 wins in 15 games.
Jokic had 33 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists for his 18th career triple-double and second in this series, but the two-time MVP and his teammates couldn’t reassert their usual late-game dominance over the Lakers.
Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points and 11 rebounds for Denver, and Jamal Murray scored 22 points while going 0 for 4 on 3-point attempts. Aaron Gordon had just seven points for the Nuggets after putting up 29 in Game 3 during the highest-scoring playoff game of his career — but offense wasn’t the Nuggets’ problem, according to coach Michael Malone.
While Jokic was prolific and James seized the spotlight late, Davis was outstanding for the fourth straight game. His 23 rebounds matched his career playoff high, and he even shared the Lakers’ team lead with six assists. / AP