Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals didn’t exactly go the way the Los Angeles Lakers hoped it would. After taking the first game of the two prior series on the road, they fell to the Denver Nuggets behind a gigantic game from center Nikola Jokic.
However, they emerged from that contest with some tangible hope and even optimism.
After falling behind by 18 points at halftime and getting outrebounded 36-13 in the first two quarters, L.A. kept eating away at its deficit throughout the second half and got as close as three points toward the end before losing 132-126.
It started to find a few strategies that appeared to work in the fourth quarter, and if it keeps them up while addressing a few other things, it could come back home over the weekend with a 1-1 series split and the home-court advantage.