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113-111 win over the Lakers, 4 wins…Jokic’s single PO 8th triple-double
40 James bows his head as he misses both shots before the end
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Seol Ha-eun = The Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) have advanced to the championship game for the first time in club history.
Denver defeated the Los Angeles (LA) Lakers 113-111 in Game 4 of the 2022-2023 NBA Western Conference Finals (4 wins from 7 matches) held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (LA), California on the 23rd (hereinafter Korean time). .
With this, Denver, who swept home games 1 and 2 and away games 3 and 4, finished the series early in 4 games and confirmed their advance to the championship match.
Denver will face the winners of the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, who are in the Eastern Conference finals, in the championship match from the 2nd of next month.
Currently, No. 8 seed Miami is dominating No. 2 seed Boston with three wins.
It is the first time in 47 years since the team was founded that Denver will advance to the championship game.
The Lakers tried to recapture the throne three years after the 2019-2020 season, but lost 4 consecutive times to Denver and promised the next season.
[USA TODAY Sports=Yonhap News]
Denver’s flagship center Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.It was the eighth triple-double in the playoffs (PO) this season alone, surpassing the record of the legendary center Wilt Chamberlain in the 1960s and 1970s.
All starters scored double digits, with Jeomal Head scoring 25 points and Aaron Gordon scoring 22 points.
Denver finished the first half 58-73, and the Lakers overwhelmed the early atmosphere.
Denver, who used halftime to reorganize the line, exploded in the third quarter, while thoroughly blocking the Lakers’ score, turning the score to 94-89.
With about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Denver, who allowed the score to tie in the Lakers’ fierce pursuit that was close to elimination, ran away again with the head making all 3 free throws.
With 1 minute and 13 seconds left before the end, Anthony Davis’ two free throws both split the rim, tying the score again and saving the fire for Game 5.However, Denver’s Jokic recovered with a layup 51 seconds before the end, making it 113-111.
In the Lakers, LeBron James’ fade away shot 26 seconds before the end missed the rim, and a floater attempted 1 second before the end was blocked by Denver Gordon’s block.
The end buzzer sounded without the score changing, and Denver was delighted.
The Lakers showed a triple-double performance with James scoring the most points among both teams with 40 points (10 rebounds, 9 assists), including 3 points and 4 shots.
However, both of the crucial two shots thrown just before the end of the fourth quarter ended in vain and lowered their heads.
Davis struggled with 21 points and 14 rebounds, but was unable to prevent the team’s sweep defeat by losing by decision in a center match against Jokic.
The Lakers also failed to overcome the last hurdle, although all starters scored in double digits.
