Watch Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers Game 5 live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning (2am)
Friday 25 September 2020 09:09, UK
LeBron James said he wanted to "take the challenge" of guarding Jamal Murray late on in the Los Angeles Lakers' victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers are a victory away from returning to the NBA Finals - and only another comeback from 3-1 down by the Nuggets can stop them.
Anthony Davis scored 34 points and LeBron James had 26 as the Lakers beat the Nuggets 114-108 on Thursday night in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
"We played great down the stretch, we played great overall," Davis said. "Still some things that we can fix if we want to put this thing away."
Davis got the Lakers off to a fast start with his scoring and James helped them finish it with his defense, forcing Murray into some late misses after the guard had kept the Nuggets in it with an array of high-difficulty baskets.
"I knew it was winning time and Jamal had it going," James said.
"He is a helluva player, one of the hottest guys we have in the bubble today. I wanted to try to take the challenge. He is a tough guard, very shifty, has a triple-threat in being able to shoot the three, get into the lane and score from mid-range."
How did James get the better of Murray in those vital possessions late in the game? "Just using my length and my athleticism. Just being smart. I have been in this league a long time and the worst thing you can do is put a great scorer on the free throw line. So, high hands, meet him at the rim and hope he misses a couple."
James added nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Lakers had 12 offensive rebounds for a whopping 25-6 advantage in second-chance points.
"This is the Western Conference Finals, Game 4. If you can't help us on the defensive end, maybe you shouldn't be on the floor," Denver coach Michael Malone said. "We have to be able to lock in, finish with a rebound. We had too many empty possessions tonight."
Game 5 takes place in the early hours of Sunday morning (2am), live on Sky Sports Arena, when the Lakers can reach the NBA Finals for the first time in a decade. Davis said he expects to be fine for it after rolling his ankle in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers have 16 championships, one behind Boston for the most in NBA history, but they have not played for one since winning their most recent title in 2010.
The Nuggets will be facing elimination for the seventh time in the bubble. They were down 3-1 against Utah in the first round and climbed out of the same hole against the LA Clippers in the West semi-finals.
But they could not come back in this game, getting within one point in the opening minute of the fourth quarter but constantly turned back from there by a key stop or rebound by the Lakers.
"We just had so many breakdowns throughout the game," Murray said. "We've just got to be better."
The Lakers started Dwight Howard at center and he had 12 points and 11 rebounds, helping put Nikola Jokic into foul trouble.
Murray had 32 points and eight assists, but Jokic finished with just 16 points and seven rebounds.
Davis scored 27 points in Game 3 but the 6ft 10in forward acknowledged that his two-rebound performance was "unacceptable". He came out much more aggressively on Thursday night after the Lakers played from behind much of the last game.
With an array of short jumpers, Davis made his first six shots before anyone else on the Lakers made a basket. Then Howard scored on consecutive follow shots before James followed with his first two field goals.
"Dwight was phenomenal for the minutes that he played," said James. "He got us extra shots when we were missing early on. We needed that out of him. That was big-time. We didn't rebound at all last game (Game 3) and they dominated us. We just wanted to turn the tide."
