The Denver Nuggets are now six wins away from winning the 2023 NBA Finals. On Thursday, the Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-103 to take a two games to none lead in the Western Conference Finals.
Denver was led by Canadian Jamal Murray of Kitchener, Ontario, who registered a double-double. He had a game-high 37 points, to go along with 10 rebounds. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic of Sombor, Serbia ended up with his 13th career triple-double (most ever by a center in NBA playoff history). He had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Lakers were actually the better team in the first half. They came away with a 53-48 lead. LeBron James had 10 first half points, along with six assists and five points. The Lakers also did a good job in defending Murray, who only made three of 13 field goal attempts in the opening 24 minutes.
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In the fourth quarter, the Lakers actually did a fantastic job in defending Jokic, who had zero points. But they were unable to stop Murray, who had 23 points in the final 12 minutes.
Late in the game with 29 seconds left, the Lakers had some life. With the score 103-99 Denver, Murray’s pass was stolen by James. However, James was unable to score, and preserved the Nuggets win.
The Nuggets have been excellent at home in the NBA Playoffs. They are now a perfect eight wins and zero losses at Ball Arena. Their eight wins have been by a combined 96 points. Game three is on Saturday from crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
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