Nuggets past Lakers 113-111
NBA

Nuggets past Lakers 113-111

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LeBron James began the final game of his 20th NBA season with the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless NBA career.

He ended the night by questioning how much longer he plans to chase history after his Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals.

 

Nicola Jokic earned his eighth triple-double of the playoffs by the third quarter, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s 1967 NBA record for triple-doubles in a single postseason. The bulky Serbian center with a point guard’s grace also led the Nuggets’ gritty defensive effort despite picking up his fifth foul midway through the fourth quarter.

Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in team history Monday night, sweeping the Western Conference finals with a 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James’ 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit with a tenacious finish in Game 4 to earn their first conference title in their 47 NBA seasons.

“It’s incredible,” Murray said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s surreal. We’re going to keep making history, that’s the thing. We’re going to keep that mindset.”