Lakers Ridiculed by Fans for G4 Collapse as LeBron James, LAL Swept by Jokić, Nuggets

AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post

The Denver Nuggets certainly found a memorable way to clinch their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.

It seemed like the Los Angeles Lakers were going to cruise to a straightforward win behind LeBron James’ dominance when they built a 15-point halftime lead, but Denver came roaring back for a 113-111 victory at Crypto.com Arena to complete the Western Conference Finals sweep.

The game was tied in the final minute when Nikola Jokić scored what proved to be the series-winning basket on a drive. James missed twice on the Lakers’ ensuing possessions, and Denver immediately shifted into celebration mode.

Jokić was brilliant with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists and passed Wilt Chamberlain for the most triple-doubles in a single playoffs with eight. As for his superstar counterpart, James appeared to run out of some steam after scoring 31 points in the first half but still finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a vintage showing.

Yet social media has plenty of criticism for the Lakers for blowing such a commanding advantage as the supporting cast wasted such a memorable start from the King:

It looked like James was not about to get swept out of the gates.

He poured in 21 points in the first quarter alone—three of which came from a pass that accidentally went in—and aggressively posted up and attacked the basket all while finally finding his touch from deep for the first time in the series.

He even got into a scuffle with Aaron Gordon and finished one of the most dominant halves of his career with an astounding 31 points while making it clear his team wasn’t going down without a fight.

And then the third quarter happened.

Denver turned a 15-point deficit into a five-point lead heading into the fourth with a 36-16 spurt. James may have been dealing with some fatigue, but his teammates also didn’t seize the opportunity to provide some much-needed support all while that is exactly what Gordon and Jamal Murray did for Jokić on the other side.

James still did what he could, including notably drawing back-to-back charges on Jokić in the fourth quarter to put the Nuggets star in foul trouble, but it wasn’t enough to stop Denver’s comeback.

Now the Nuggets will wait for the winner on the Eastern Conference’s side where the Miami Heat lead the Boston Celtics 3-0.