Lakers avoid Game 1 letdown with dominant win over Nuggets

Anthony Davis led the way for the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night with 37 points and 10 rebounds in their Game 1 win over the Nuggets.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers not only showed no rust in their Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets, but they also displayed some significant growth in avoiding a Game 1 letdown for the first time in these 2020 playoffs. The Lakers beat the Nuggets 126-114 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Anthony Davis led all scorers with 37 points to go with 10 rebounds, while LeBron James had 15 points and 12 assists. Dwight Howard was also instrumental in the win for the Lakers after hardly playing in the last series, creating problems for Nikola Jokic and getting the start for the Lakers in the second half of Game 1. He also had 13 points for the Lakers.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 18 points for the Lakers. The Nuggets had decent games from Jokic (21 points) and Murray (21 points) but both players got into early foul trouble, putting the Lakers in a double-digit hole at halftime.

Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals is on Sunday evening.

[lawrence-related id=34510,34506]