1 year ago
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Jokic besides had 14 rebounds and 13 assists successful Monday night's gameThe Denver Nuggets reached the NBA finals for the archetypal clip successful their past aft Nikola Jokic led a second-half fightback to implicit a 4-0 Western Conference title expanse implicit the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Nuggets overturned a 15-point half-time shortage to triumph 113-111.
Jokic, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, finished with 30 points.
The Nuggets volition look face either the Miami Heat oregon Boston Celtics successful the finals from 1-18 June.
The Heat lead the Eastern Conference 3-0 and tin unafraid the bid with a triumph successful crippled 4 connected Tuesday (01:30 BST Wednesday).
LeBron James had looked to beryllium single-handedly keeping the Lakers' play live aft scoring 31 points successful a superb first-half show that near the 17-time NBA champions 73-58 ahead.
But Jokic led a resurgent Nuggets discourtesy successful the 3rd quarter, scoring 13 points arsenic the Western Conference apical seeds outscored the Lakers 36-16 to crook the contention connected its head.
A melodramatic fourth-quarter finale saw Jokic enactment Denver 2 points up with a driving layup done dense postulation with 51.7secs remaining.
With 4 seconds remaining, James had 1 past accidental to necktie the lucifer and unit overtime, but his attempted driving floater was blocked by Denver's Aaron Gordon to permission the Nuggets celebrating a celebrated win.
"We don't springiness up," Jokic said. "I've been saying this for 5 years - erstwhile we were atrocious oregon erstwhile we were bully - we don't springiness up. And that's what happened.
"They jumped connected america the archetypal half, they were better, much aggressive, scoring easy and didn't miss.
"But successful the 2nd fractional we turned the leafage and everybody stepped up. It was a corporate effort, it's not conscionable 1 guy."
Although James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists for the Lakers, their supporting formed erstwhile again failed to measurement up erstwhile it mattered, with a bid of missed baskets successful the 4th fourth allowing the Nuggets, 1 of 11 teams successful the league who person ne'er won the NBA championship, to clasp connected to clinch victory.
Lakers caput manager Darvin Ham, who was appointed past twelvemonth aft the Lakers failed to scope the play-offs, said his squad had paid the terms for not making capable shots, praising Denver's ruthlessness down the stretch.
"The motion of a large squad is if you marque immoderate mistake, they're going to marque you wage for it," Ham said. "And they did conscionable that.
"This is twelvemonth one. Losing sucks, but I deliberation we tin bash thing peculiar here."
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