The Los Angeles Lakers and defending champion Denver Nuggets kick off the 2024 NBA Playoffs with a strong start!

Until the third quarter, everything was going well for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Even though they had to play on the field of the Denver Nuggets, the yellow and purple team sometimes led by more than 10 points and ended the second half with a beautiful 3-point shot from LeBron James. They went into halftime leading 60-57.

And then Denver awoke.

Nikola Jokic led the defending champion to score a 20-4 scoring streak in the third quarter, completely turning the match towards the home team with an 89-78 advantage.

Round 4 was a tug of war between the two sides. Los Angeles Lakers at times brought the gap down to 6 points but could not turn the game around with many missed shots.

"image" — **The Los Angeles Lakers started well but could not keep their advantage against the Denver Nuggets**

Denver Nuggets, thanks to the brilliance of the Jokic – Jamal Murray duo, went straight to a 114-103 victory, temporarily leading the LA team with a series score of 1-0.

This is defending champion Denver’s 9th consecutive win over the Los Angeles Lakers, an unbeaten streak that has lasted for two seasons.

The entire starting lineup of the Denver Nuggets scored 12 points or more, led by Nikola Jokic’s 32 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Jamal Murray had a double-double of 22 points and 10 assists.

The remaining three names are Aaron Gordon (12 PTS, 7 assists), Michael Porter Jr. (19 points, 3-7 3PT) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (12 points, 3 steals, 4-10 3PT) completed the 5-man lineup that left the Los Angeles Lakers struggling without a solution.

Highlights Nikola Jokic’s 32 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists performance against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1

For the away team Lakers, Anthony Davis had 32 points with 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. LeBron James scored 27 points with 8 assists and 6 rebounds but had 7 TOs.

In addition to this duo, the Lakers team had an unforgettable game of D’Angelo Russell with 1-9 3PT, scoring 13 points with 3 assists and 2 steals. Taurean Prince is the only name in the group of 4 reserve players with points in this match, scoring 11 points in more than 30 minutes of play.

Review the main developments of this match here