Nikola Jokić had 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists as the Denver Nuggets survived a late Los Angeles Lakers rally to take Game 1 of the Western Conference finals 132-126 on Tuesday at Ball Arena in Denver. The Nuggets lead the series 1-0 with Game 2 slated for Thursday. Jamal Murray added 31 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 21 points.
For the Lakers, Anthony Davis scored 40 points with 10 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to hold off the Nuggets. LeBron James had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists. The Lakers got within 3 points with 1:12 to play, but couldn't hit the dagger shot to rally past the top seed.
