Revenge of the ‘Rocky Mountain Monster’ has begun
Los Angeles Lakers coach Davin Ham said on the 13th after winning the 2022-2023 NBA Western Conference Playoffs Round 2 Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors to advance to the Western Conference finals, “A monster in the Rocky Mountains is killing us. I know you are waiting,” he said.
The ‘Rocky Mountains’ mentioned by Hamm meant Denver, the final opponent whose home stadium is 1600m above sea level, and the ‘monster’ was Denver’s ace center Nikola Jokic (28). Jokic, who won the regular league MVP for the past two seasons in a row and achieved an “average triple-double” in the second round of the playoffs, was the Lakers’ biggest headache.
When I opened the lid, it was actually like that. Jokic’s strength gave Denver a thrilling victory. Denver defeated the Lakers 132-126 on the 17th at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on the 17th in the first leg of the NBA Western Conference finals with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists, Yokichi recorded a triple-double. The second game between the two teams will be held at the same place on the 19th.
The two teams have clashed at the same location during the 2019-2020 season. At that time, the Lakers dropped Denver and went up to the championship game and won the championship.스포츠토토
Jokic gritted his teeth against the Lakers, who suffered a setback three years ago. Jokic showed off his tremendous concentration with a field goal success rate of 70.6% in his triple-double that day. According to ESPN, an American sports expert, Jokic is the only player in NBA history to have scored more than 30 points and recorded a triple-double in the playoffs while his field goal success rate exceeded 70%. The low horse head, which forms a one-two punch with Yokichi, also added strength by scoring 31 points.
However, despite Yokichi’s performance, the game remained unknown until the very end. Denver seemed to be taking the victory comfortably, leading by 21 points until 5 minutes and 24 seconds before the end of the third quarter. However, the Lakers, along with Anthony Davis (40 points, 10 rebounds) consistently played an active role, LeBron James (26 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists) and Austin Reeves led the team with the smallest physique and weakest defense among Denver players. Concentrated attack and terrifying pursuit. They followed up to 121-124 with 3 minutes and 23 seconds left in the game.
After rearranging the lineup, Denver increased the gap again with Jokic’s free throw and secured the victory when James made an error in missing the ball during the Lakers’ attack that followed.