Nikola Jokic on Monday outdueled LeBron James as the Denver Nuggets completed a 4-0 Western Conference championship sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic bagged a 30-point triple-double as the Nuggets overturned a 15-point halftime deficit for a 113-111 victory that sent the Lakers crashing out and left James reportedly contemplating a shock retirement from basketball.
James had looked to be single-handedly keeping the Lakers’ season alive after scoring 31 points in a magnificent first-half display that left the 17-time NBA champions leading 73-58 at halftime.
Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY
However, Jokic led a resurgent Nuggets offense in the third quarter, scoring 13 points as the Western Conference top seeds outscored the Lakers 36-16 to turn the contest on its head.
A dramatic fourth-quarter finale saw Jokic put Denver 113-111 ahead with a typically barnstorming driving layup through heavy traffic with 51.7 seconds remaining.
With four seconds left, James had one last chance to tie it up and force overtime, but his attempted driving floater was blocked by Denver’s Aaron Gordon to leave the Nuggets celebrating a famous win.
Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY
A dejected James left the court immediately following the loss as his latest bid for a fifth NBA title ended in disappointment.
James later spoke cryptically about his future in a post-game news conference, while an ESPN report said the 38-year-old was contemplating “walking away” from the sport after the defeat brought the curtain down on his 20th season in the league.
Asked for his reflections on the past season, in which he became the league’s all-time leading points scorer and took a rejuvenated Lakers to the brink of the NBA Finals, James said the campaign had been “challenging.”
“I don’t know. I think it was okay. I don’t like to say it’s a successful year because I don’t play for anything besides winning championships at this point in my career,” said James, who delivered a vintage 40-point performance in the Lakers’ loss.
“I don’t get a kick out of making a Conference [finals] appearance. I’ve done it, a lot, and it’s not fun to me to not be able to be a part of getting to the Finals,” he said. “But we’ll see. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens going forward. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about to be honest.”
“Just for me personally, going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about,” he added.
Chris Haynes, a reporter for TNT, wrote on Twitter citing league sources that James’ retirement was “under consideration.”
Denver — one of 11 teams in the league who have never won the NBA championship — are to face either the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics in the finals. Miami were leading Boston 3-0 before Game 4 yesterday.
“We don’t give up,” Jokic told ESPN. “I’ve been saying this for five years — when we were bad or when we were good — we don’t give up. And that’s what happened today.”
“They jumped on us the first half, they were better, more aggressive, scoring easily and didn’t miss, basically,” he said. “But in the second half we turned the page and everybody stepped up. It was a collective effort, it’s not just one guy.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS