LOS ANGELES — Nikola Jokic stood near halfcourt and unleashed a roar that had been years in the making.
Late in the fourth quarter of Monday’s gripping Game 4, after one of Jokic’s sublime dimes found Aaron Gordon for a dunk, Jokic screamed at the history he and the Nuggets were approaching. Not four minutes later, in front of championship banners that Denver was only allowed to dream about, the Nuggets seized the Western Conference crown over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-111.
Their victory punched Denver’s first-ever trip to the NBA Finals by virtue of its first-ever playoff sweep in franchise history.
As James drove to the hoop in the final seconds, Jamal Murray got his hands on the ball in an attempt to thwart James. At the same time, Aaron Gordon soared over and appeared to block the ball. Game over, and Denver’s reserves stormed the court.
Jokic, named the Western Conference Finals MVP, finished with a 30-point, 14-rebound, 13-assist triple-double, setting an NBA record with his eighth in the postseason.
Murray finished with 25 points, while Gordon registered 22.
James managed 40 points but his help wasn’t there. For the first time in Denver’s history, they ousted the Lakers in the postseason. Before Monday night, they’d been 0-7.
Behind James, Los Angeles took a 73-58 halftime lead. The Nuggets stormed back to take the lead in the third quarter.
Their defense swarmed, and their transition game ignited the offense. In one telling sequence, Jokic swatted a shot by Anthony Davis at the rim to kickstart one of many breaks in the other direction. Eventually, Jokic converted a layup at the other end. The two-time MVP poured in 13 points in the quarter, but he wasn’t alone. Murray sank a devastating jumper from the elbow, Michael Porter Jr. attacked the hoop, and Aaron Gordon stepped confidently into his 3-point looks.
Helpless during the spurt, Lakers coach Darvin Ham could only put his hands to his face. Or call timeouts.
The quarter encapsulated Denver’s depth and illuminated how the Nuggets are far more than just an offensive juggernaut.
By the time the quarter was over, Denver had outscored the Lakers 36-16 to stun the home crowd. Improbably, the Nuggets held a 94-89 lead going into the fourth.
“Nikola would be the first one to admit he is not going to win a playoff game, a series or a potential championship by himself,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said before the game. “Just one player doesn’t do it. And obviously Jamal has played phenomenal in this first postseason back from that ACL, but Jamal is aware of that as well. We got Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a reason. We traded for Aaron a few years ago for a reason and signed Bruce Brown in free agency for a reason. … That’s what it takes. … We all believe in each other, and that belief in one another, for us, is a very powerful, tangible thing.”
Having coached LeBron James during his first stint in Cleveland, Malone was well aware of the challenge in front of his team.
“Just a mindset of going out there and taking it,” Malone said pre-game. “They are not going to give us anything. Obviously, they are facing elimination, very dangerous team. So, our mindset has to be, be the more aggressive team and just overall, just-take-it mentality. They are not going to give us anything.”
James was in no mood to see his season end. He blitzed the Nuggets for 31 points in the first half, spinning past defenders and getting to the line.
The Nuggets had little trouble scoring, but their defense conceded 36 points in the paint over the first two quarters. There was also a 17-6 free throw disparity so glaring that Malone could no longer stand it. He picked up a technical after Jokic was called for a whistle only a play after Lakers big man Rui Hachimura got away with contact on the defensive end.
There were more than a few looks of bewilderment on the Nuggets’ side at what had, to that point, been an extremely unfavorable whistle.
That followed a minor skirmish between Gordon and James that earned both players technical fouls. James didn’t appear to appreciate Gordon’s physical defense, and Gordon didn’t enjoy the forearms directed at his chest.
