LOS ANGELES, May 23 (BNA): Nikola Jokic is a player unlike almost anything the NBA has seen, and now he’s taking the Denver Nuggets to a place like never before.
Jokic scored 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in team history Monday night, sweeping the Western Conference Finals with a 113-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James’ 31-point and 15-point halftime deficit with a tenacious Game 4 finish to claim their first conference title in 47 seasons in the NBA.
“It’s unbelievable,” Murray said. “It’s so much fun. It’s surreal. We’re going to keep making history, that’s the thing. We’re going to keep that mentality.”
Jokic had his eighth double in the playoffs by the third quarter, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s 1967 NBA record of triples in a single game postseason. The massive Serbian quarterback with the grace of a keeper also led the Nuggets’ valiant defensive effort despite committing their fifth foul midway through the fourth quarter.
Łokic didn’t leave the floor for the last 33 minutes of Game 4 and when Denver needed a big basket, Jokic delivered that too. He edged out Anthony Davis for the final points of the game on a layup with 51 seconds left to play.
“I think that’s why the knockout matches are so nice and interesting, because you don’t care how tired you are,” Jokic said. “You don’t care about minutes, fouls, shots, percentage. You just want to win a game. Some plays today we weren’t playing good defense at times, (but) you can win it every way you can.”
James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists after the highest-scoring half of his career, but even the leading scorer in NBA history couldn’t keep the deep, dynamic Nuggets from their sixth straight victory overall.
James missed two tying shots in the final seconds, with Aaron Gordon getting the official credit for blocking the tying effort at the buzzer.
The Nuggets would cap off their stellar season by playing in their first NBA Championship. Denver both eliminated the Lakers for the first time in eight playoff meetings and swept a playoff series for the first time, potentially earning several days before the Finals.
Unless the Boston Celtics make basketball history by rebounding from a 3-0 deficit in the East Finals, eighth-seeded Denver will host the Miami Heat to open the NBA Finals, starting June 1.
ZHB