Game ID: 42300151
Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets
Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 8:30 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 25 32 32 25 114LAL 33 27 18 25 103
DEN vs LAL ScoutingDEN vs LAL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 4/09 · 2 days' restBACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 21 min since (64% of 33)
NEW Jackson 21 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Braun 20 to 28 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Gordon missed 2 since 4/06, returns tonight: 28 min (87% of 32)
OUT Jordan missed 2 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 24 min since (73% of 33)
NEW Braun 20 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Watson 18 to 23 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 3 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 25 min since (77% of 33)
BACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 28 min since (87% of 32)
NEW Braun 20 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 4 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 26 min since (80% of 33)
BACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 28 min since (88% of 32)
NEW Braun 20 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/20 · 5 days' restOUT Jordan missed 5 since 4/06, returns tonight: 9 min (80% of 11)
BACK Murray back 4/06 after 7, 26 min since (79% of 33)
BACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 28 min since (86% of 32)
NEW Braun 20 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/22 · 1 day's restBACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 29 min since (89% of 32)
BACK Jordan back 4/20 after 5, 9 min since (80% of 11)
DEN availability going into 4/25 · 2 days' restOUT Strawther missed 2 since 4/20, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 4/10 after 2, 31 min since (96% of 32)
BACK Jordan back 4/20 after 5, 9 min since (80% of 11)
DEN availability going into 4/27 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 2 since 4/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 3 since 4/20, out tonight
DEN availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 3 since 4/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 4 since 4/20, out tonight
LAL availability going into 4/07 · back-to-backOUT Reddish missed 3 since 4/02, returns tonight: 14 min (67% of 20)
OUT Vanderbilt missed 28 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 22 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Vincent back 3/31 after 46, 14 min since (79% of 18)
LAL availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 29 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 23 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 4/07 after 3, 14 min since (67% of 20)
BACK Vincent back 3/31 after 46, 14 min since (79% of 18)
NEW Hayes 12 to 18 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 4/12 · 2 days' restOUT Vanderbilt missed 30 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 24 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 4/07 after 3, 12 min since (57% of 20)
NEW Hayes 12 to 20 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 31 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 25 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 4/07 after 3, 12 min since (57% of 20)
NEW Hayes 12 to 18 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/20 · 5 days' restOUT Reddish missed 2 since 4/12, not on tonight's roster
OUT Vanderbilt missed 32 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 26 since 2/22, out tonight
NEW Hayes 12 to 18 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/22 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 33 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 27 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 4/07 after 3, 12 min since (57% of 20)
NEW Russell 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Hachimura 27 to 32 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/25 · 2 days' restOUT Vanderbilt missed 34 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 28 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Christie missed 2 since 4/20, out tonight
NEW Russell 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Hachimura 27 to 33 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/27 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 35 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 29 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Christie missed 3 since 4/20, out tonight
LAL availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Vanderbilt missed 36 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 30 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Christie missed 4 since 4/20, out tonight
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 109, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 17 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Murray at 24 a game. 5 days' rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 51 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; James at 30 and Davis at 23 a game. Without Reddish (2 straight), Vanderbilt (32 straight), Wood (26 straight). 5 days' rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the line, where the Lakers take 25 free throws a game to Denver's 17 and the defense, Denver allowing 109 a night to the Lakers' 117. Call it Denver 119, the Lakers 113.
4/09 @ UTA 111-95 — DEN notes
DEN won 111-95. DEN shot 49% (46 of 94) to UTA's 40%, 14 of 37 from three. DEN turned it over 9 times to UTA's 14. Jokić led with 28 (12 of 20); Murray added 28, Porter Jr. 12. The hinge was Q1, 34-17: from level to 17 ahead. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
4/10 vs MIN 116-107 — DEN notes
DEN won 116-107. DEN shot 55% (46 of 83) to MIN's 50%, 11 of 25 from three. Jokić led with 41 (16 of 20, 7 of 12 at the line); Murray added 20, Porter Jr. 18. The hinge was Q3, 34-28: DEN came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 3, and the lead reached 16. DEN trailed 49-52 at the half and won the second half 67-55. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
4/12 @ SAS 120-121 — DEN notes
DEN lost 120-121. DEN took 12 more shots (97 to 85), but shot 51% to SAS's 53%, 13 of 36 from three, and got to the line just 10 times against 19 fouls committed. DEN turned it over 7 times to SAS's 18. The glass went 33-49 against them. Murray led with 35 (14 of 26, 5 of 11 from three); Jokić added 22, Porter Jr. 14. Q2 was theirs, 37-18, turning a 1-point deficit into a 18-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 103-83 against them. They led by as many as 23.
4/14 @ MEM 126-111 — DEN notes
DEN won 126-111. DEN shot 52% (46 of 89) to MEM's 45%, 12 of 36 from three, and went to the line 26 times to MEM's 18 — 22 points from the stripe to their 13. The glass went 54-43 for them. Murray led with 21 (7 of 14, 3 of 7 from three); Braun added 19, Jokić 15. The hinge was Q2, 37-28: a lead of 3 became 12, and the lead reached 26. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
4/20 vs LAL 114-103 — DEN notes
DEN won 114-103. DEN shot 46% (47 of 102) to LAL's 49%, 15 of 42 from three, and got to the line 6 times to LAL's 19. DEN turned it over 4 times to LAL's 12. Jokić led with 32 (15 of 23, 1 of 3 from three); Murray added 22, Porter Jr. 19. The hinge was Q3, 32-18: DEN came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 11, and the lead reached 15. DEN trailed 57-60 at the half and won the second half 57-43. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
4/22 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 15 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Murray at 25 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 121, shooting 50 percent and 34 from three, 25 free throws a game; James at 31 and Davis at 26 a game. Without Vanderbilt (33 straight), Wood (27 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 107 a night to the Lakers' 121 and the line, where the Lakers take 25 free throws a game to Denver's 15. Call it Denver 119, the Lakers 112.
4/25 @ LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Davis at 32 and James at 30 a game. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Vanderbilt (34 straight), Wood (28 straight). 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-4 a night and the Lakers minus-4 and the defense, Denver allowing 108 a night to the Lakers' 115. Call it the Lakers 115, Denver 114, Denver keeping it close.
4/27 @ LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 51 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Davis at 33 and James at 29 a game. That is 3 straight losses. They have lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Vanderbilt (35 straight), Wood (29 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 30 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and the Lakers minus-6 and the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 13 times a game to Denver's 10. Call it the Lakers 114, Denver 113, Denver keeping it close.
4/29 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 107, shooting 47 percent and 29 from three, 19 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 32 from three, 17 free throws a game; Davis at 30 and James at 27 a game. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Vanderbilt (36 straight), Wood (30 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-7 a night and the Lakers minus-5. Call it Denver 114, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
4/07 vs MIN 117-127 — LAL notes
LAL lost 117-127. LAL shot 46% (39 of 84) to MIN's 52%, 11 of 31 from three, and went to the line 32 times to MIN's 14 — 28 points from the stripe to their 12. Hachimura led with 30 (11 of 17, 4 of 5 from three); Hayes added 19, Dinwiddie 18. Q3 was theirs, 28-23, the deficit cut from 15 to 10, but the other 3 periods went 104-89 against them. Prince's -22 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/09 vs GSW 120-134 — LAL notes
LAL lost 120-134. LAL took 16 more shots (96 to 80), fed by 10 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to GSW's 59%, 12 of 35 from three. LAL turned it over 7 times to GSW's 15. James led with 33 (14 of 22, 1 of 3 from three); Reaves added 22, Hachimura 20. Q4 was theirs, 31-28, the deficit cut from 17 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 106-89 against them. Prince's -18 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 @ MEM 123-120 — LAL notes
LAL won 123-120. LAL shot 52% (42 of 81) to MEM's 45%, 13 of 37 from three, and went to the line 34 times to MEM's 21 — 26 points from the stripe to their 17. LAL turned it over 19 times to MEM's 13, and MEM turned those into 14 steals. James led with 37 (13 of 20, 3 of 7 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); Davis added 36, Hachimura 14. The hinge was Q1, 34-26: from level to 8 ahead. Vincent was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
4/14 @ NOP 124-108 — LAL notes
LAL won 124-108. LAL shot 55% (48 of 87) to NOP's 48%, 11 of 29 from three. LAL turned it over 14 times to NOP's 19. Davis led with 30 (13 of 17); James added 28, Reaves 20. The hinge was Q2, 40-29: a lead of 6 became 17, and the lead reached 32. Russell was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
4/20 @ DEN 103-114 — LAL notes
LAL lost 103-114. LAL shot 49% (39 of 79) to DEN's 46%, 8 of 29 from three, and went to the line 19 times to DEN's 6 — 17 points from the stripe to their 5. LAL turned it over 12 times to DEN's 4. Davis led with 32 (12 of 23, 0 of 4 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); James added 27, Russell 13. Q1 was theirs, 33-25, but the other 3 periods went 89-70 against them. They led by as many as 12. Davis's -12 in 44 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/22 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 15 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Murray at 25 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 121, shooting 50 percent and 34 from three, 25 free throws a game; James at 31 and Davis at 26 a game. Without Vanderbilt (33 straight), Wood (27 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 107 a night to the Lakers' 121 and the line, where the Lakers take 25 free throws a game to Denver's 15. Call it Denver 119, the Lakers 112.
4/25 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Davis at 32 and James at 30 a game. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Vanderbilt (34 straight), Wood (28 straight). 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-4 a night and the Lakers minus-4 and the defense, Denver allowing 108 a night to the Lakers' 115. Call it the Lakers 115, Denver 114, Denver keeping it close.
4/27 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 51 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Davis at 33 and James at 29 a game. That is 3 straight losses. They have lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Vanderbilt (35 straight), Wood (29 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 30 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and the Lakers minus-6 and the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 13 times a game to Denver's 10. Call it the Lakers 114, Denver 113, Denver keeping it close.
4/29 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 107, shooting 47 percent and 29 from three, 19 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 32 from three, 17 free throws a game; Davis at 30 and James at 27 a game. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Vanderbilt (36 straight), Wood (30 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-7 a night and the Lakers minus-5. Call it Denver 114, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
DJ D. Jordan
JH J. Holiday
JM J. Murray
JO Jokic
KC K. Caldwell-Pope
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
LALAD A. Davis
AR A. Reaves
DR D. Russell
GV G. Vincent
JH J. Hayes
LJ L. James
RH R. Hachimura
SD S. Dinwiddie
TP T. Prince
DEN/LAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Nikola Jokic leads NBA champ Denver Nuggets past LeBron James and Lakers 114-103 in playoff opener
DENVER -- — Unlike their crowd that drowned out the Los Angeles Lakers ' pregame introductions, the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets were a little late to the playoff party Saturday night.
They turned up their offense and defense after a sputtering start, however, powering past the Lakers 114-103 behind Nikola Jokic 's 32 points and 12 rebounds in the Western Conference playoff opener, their ninth consecutive triumph over the Lakers.
After watching LeBron James score 19 first-half points, capped by a pull-up 3 from 32 feet in the final second that put the Lakers up 60-57, the Nuggets limited the NBA’s career scoring leader to nine points in the second half and didn’t allow him to even take a shot in the fourth quarter until just 1:20 remained.
“We’re not going anywhere," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "This is the playoffs. No team in the playoffs, if you get down 12 early, you’re not going to just take your ball and go home. We still have plenty of fight left in us and we know that we were better than what we were playing early.
“That’s a good team over there. They came into the playoffs playing extremely well, and they showed it. LeBron was on course, I thought he’s about to have 50 points tonight, the way he was playing and shooting the ball.”
James finished with 27 points and Anthony Davis had 32.
That wasn't nearly enough to match the reigning champs' prowess.
Two other Nuggets matched Jokic's double-double — Jamal Murray (22 points, 10 assists) and Aaron Gordon (12 points, 11 rebounds) — and Michael Porter Jr . came close with 19 points and eight boards.
Denver handed James just his fourth loss in 17 first-round openers, but Malone said, “We've got to watch the film to see what we can do better. This is going to be a hell of a series.”
The Lakers haven’t beaten the Nuggets since Dec. 16, 2022. They’ll try again Monday night in Game 2 at Ball Arena, where Denver is now 34-8 this season.
“To be honest, we are desperate, too. We don't want to lose at home," Jokic said. “I think every game is going to be interesting. So, hopefully we are going to match and be even more physical than them.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham concurred with Malone's sentiment about a competitive series, saying, "Everybody's going to lose their mind over one game, and give them their credit, they held serve at home. They're a tough home team, tough to beat in general, but they're really good at home. ... (But) we did a lot of good things out there tonight.”
Denver just did more things better.
The Nuggets had 15 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points, 10 more than the Lakers, who grabbed just six offensive boards. And the Nuggets committed just four turnovers — just one by their starters — while the Lakers turned the ball over a dozen times, including a whopping seven by James.
“I thought we played some good ball tonight, just could have been better,” James said. “You don't have much room for error versus Denver's team, especially at their home floor. They're just a team that's been through everything. Obviously, they're the defending champions, so you gotta execute, you gotta make shots, you gotta defend. And then you can't give them extra possessions.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope , 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 at 89-74.
Porter excelled on the court, as coach Malone predicted he would, after a trying week for his family that saw one younger brother, Coban Porter, sentenced to six years in jail for a fatal drunken driving crash on Friday and another, former Toronto Raptors guard Jontay Porter, banned from the NBA for betting on basketball and disclosing confidential information to other bettors.
“I think I definitely tried to compartmentalize," Porter said. "Some bad and sad stuff happened to a couple of my brothers, but I got 15, 16 more brothers in here. So I knew I had to be here for them and come in here and do my job.”
The Nuggets entered these playoffs with bull's-eyes 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.
One sign of their looseness: Jokic, who's starring in a teaser for “Despicable Me 4” where he seeks therapy because the Minions think he's their boss, arrived at Ball Arena decked out in a black-and-gray striped scarf and gray pants, looking like Felonius Gru -- the lead character from the movie franchise.
James should have shown up dressed like Vector because he played the perfect villain, at least until halftime.
Denver swept the Lakers in last season’s Western Conference finals, the next-to-last step the Nuggets had to clear before claiming their first NBA title.
“I don't ever get into the ‘here we go again’ mindset,” James said. “One game, they protected their home court. We have another opportunity on Monday to come back and be better.”
—-
This story corrects first name of Denver player to Aaron Gordon instead of Anthony Gordon.