The Los Angeles Lakers avoided humiliation in the first round of the NBA play-offs. LeBron James and Co. won 119-108 on Saturday against Denver to only trail 3-1 in the series.
The Lakers have therefore finally managed to find the key against the reigning champion, who had ‘swept’ the LA franchise 4-0 last year in the Western Conference final and remained on 11 successes in a row against the same opponent. But, for the record, a team has never managed to win a series after losing the first three games in the entire history of the NBA play-offs.
The Lakers showed great collective strength to keep the ghosts of the Nuggets’ comebacks at bay during the first three matches of the series. Without much hope of reversing this 1st round but with pride, ‘King James’ showed the way with 30 points. He was well followed by pivot Anthony Davis (25 points, 23 rebounds), D’Angelo Russell (21 points) and Austin Reaves (21 points).
Denver did not seem to panic, with the advantage already taken in this series. Nikola Jokic, still in a triple-double (33 points, 14 rebounds, 14 assists), took out his magic wand with an astonishing one-handed volley pass during a block, without managing to take his team in his wake.
Boston reacts
Still in the West, Oklahoma City leads 3-0 against New Orleans, the Thunder having won 106-85 on the floor of Pelicans still deprived of their star Zion Williamson (injured). In the East, the Celtics regained the advantage on the floor against Miami (2-1). Beaten at home on Wednesday, Boston, the best team of the regular season, responded with a great success in Miami 104-84.
/ATS
