Los Angeles, Calif. (WGR 550) - For the first time in franchise history, the Denver Nuggets will play for an NBA championship.
The Nuggets officially punched their tickets to the 2023 NBA Finals on Monday with a 113-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto Arena to complete a four-game sweep in the Western Conference Finals.
Denver was led by two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Monday, as he finished Game 4 of the series with another triple-double, scoring 30 points, while gathering 14 rebound and registering 13 assists. It was his third triple-double of the Western Conference Finals, and his eighth triple-double of the postseason.
In 15 playoff games this season, Jokic has been nothing short of dominant, averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists per-game.
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Jamal Murray also contributed for the Nuggets with 25 points in the win, while shooting 55.6% from field goal range. He has also played well this postseason for Denver, averaging 27.7 points while shooting 48% from field goal range.
In addition, Aaron Gordon contributed 22 points for the Nuggets while going 64.3% from field goal range.
As for the Lakers, LeBron James led the game with 40 points in a last-ditch effort to keep their season alive. He also shot 60% from field goal range, while accumulating 10 rebounds and nine assists.
However, it was all for naught, as the rest of the roster failed to come up in the clutch and help Los Angeles win on home court in Game 4. Anthony Davis was able to contribute 21 points and come up with 14 rebounds, but Austin Reaves only put up 17 points, Dennis Schroeder accounted for 13 points, and Rui Hachimura just 10 points.
The Nuggets await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. Miami currently leads the best-of-seven series, 3-0, with Game 4 set to take place on Tuesday night at the Kaseya Center.
