The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic They made history in the NBA and entered the Finals for the first time, after winning their fourth game against Los Angeles Lakers and sweep LeBron James’ men 4-0 in the definition of the Western Conference.
Against the ropes it seemed that LeBron would do the impossible to give his team the victory when he finished the first half with 31 points and the Lakers up by 15. But Denver came out determined in the third quarter and took it by a brutal 36 to 16, based on a remarkable defense and a stellar Jokic, as usually happens. Things were even until the last play, with the Nuggets up 113 to 111 (final result) and Los Angeles with the ball. But great defense by Canadian Jamal Murray and athletic Aaron Gordon on LeBron He declared the story doomed.
Now, Denver waits to meet its rival in the NBA Finals, which looks like the Miami Heat3-0 up in their Eastern series against the Boston Celtics and with the possibility of liquidating the definition this Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. (Argentine time; ESPN television) in local condition.
The future of LeBron James
By your side, LeBron, 38 years oldhas two more seasons under contract with the Lakers and has always expressed his goal of continuing to play until the arrival of one of his sons, Bronny James, to the league, scheduled for 2024but after the defeat he sowed doubts about his future.
“We’ll see what happens from now on. I don’t know. I have a lot to think about to continue with basketball. To be honest, I have a lot to think about,” he said. James after the painful 0-4 sweep, just the third of his 20-year career.
The statements of the four-time NBA champion caused a stir and an ESPN journalist, Dave McMenamin, later spoke with the player to clarify what he had meant. McMenamin transcribed the dialogue on his Twitter account:
- Question: When you said you wanted to think about things, what should we get out of all this?
- Answer: If I want to continue playing…
- Q: In the next year?
- A: Yes.
- Q: Would you leave it?
- A: I have to think about it.
LeBron played almost the entire game -he only rested 4 seconds in 48 minutes- and finished it with 40 points (11/18 in doubles, 4/7 in triples and 6/7 in free throws), 10 rebounds and 9 assists to completely lead the Lakers, who also had the contributions of Anthony Davis with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks and the guard austin reaves with 17 points and 3 assists.
Nikola Jokic, the Most Valuable
After being twice the MVP of the league but not being able to reflect such success in the Playoffs -elimination in the conference semifinals in 2021 and exit in the first round in 2022- Serbian Nikola Jokic is on a mission this year: give the Denver Nuggets their first title. For now, he already took them to their first Finals.
“I’m really happy for my teammates and for the organization and how we’ve struggled. I remember the days when nobody came (to the stadium) and you could hear the ball bouncing on the field because there were no fans,” he said. at a press conference.
Jokic signed a list of 30 points (8/18 in doubles, 3/6 in triples and 5/6 in free throws), 14 rebounds and 13 assists, adding his eighth triple double of these Playoffs and breaking the record of the legendary Wilt Chamberlain -that of the 100 points in a game- who had achieved seven in 1967.
The magical Serbian, who received the “Magic Johnson” trophy for the MVP of the Western Finals after the game, was accompanied in the scoring point guard Murray with 25 points and 5 assists and the defensive specialist Aaron Gordon, who stood out with 22 points6 rebounds and 5 assists after averaging 9.7 points in the first three games of the series.