Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets spoil LeBron James special night

By HoopsHype | March 2, 2024

What’s the buzz on Twitter? Mike Trudell @LakersReporterLeBron said he appreciated the recognition for 40K, and always appreciates doing something that hasn’t been done. But it’s bittersweet coming in a loss:“For me the main thing is always the main thing and that’s to win, so I hate that it happened in defeat,” he allowed. – 11:48 PM Mike Trudell @LakersReporterAD said he and LeBron were discussing how he might have to stop hitting milestones because “We always lose when it’s time to break a record.”He then added how remarkable it is to witness greatness continue.Davis actually ranks 11th amongst active all-time scorers (17,289). – 11:36 PM Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlinAnthony Davis on LeBron James becoming the first NBA player to reach 40,000 points:“As of right now, I don’t see anybody breaking his record.” – 11:36 PM Jovan Buha @jovanbuhaAD said he told LeBron postgame that he has to stop breaking records because every time he does the Lakers lose that game. – 11:32 PM Jovan Buha @jovanbuhaDarvin Ham on defending Nikola Jokic: “You just have to fight as hard as you can for as long as you can and hope he misses. Hope he misses. … You just have to keep throwing stuff at him.” – 11:25 PM Rob Perez @WorldWideWobNuggets beat the Lakers opening night, Kobe statue night, and now LeBron 40k night. You are getting a free Jaxson Hayes t-shirt as the promotion next season at the absolute most. – 11:00 PM Rob Perez @WorldWideWobLakers havent even played poorly these past 7 games. They are all competitive until the end, and then Jokic invites Anthony Davis to participate in some street magic and two minutes later his watch is gone. – 10:49 PM Jovan Buha @jovanbuhaFinal: Nuggets 124, Lakers 114These two teams have played the same crunch time eight straight times — and the result has been the same each time. LA drops to 33-29. LeBron gets to 40K points. Big performances from Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.Up next: vs. OKC on Monday. – 10:44 PM Dave McMenamin @mctenThe Lakers lose their 8th straight against the Nuggets, with Jokic, Murray and Gordon hitting back-breaking shots once again. Denver wins 124-114, outscoring L.A. by 10 in the 4th after it was tied after 3Q. – 10:43 PM Tony Jones @TjonesonthenbaI understand AD not being primary on Jokic early on, but leaving Rui to Wither and die on Nikola in the fourth quarter just shouldn’t be happening – 10:38 PM Sean Highkin @highkinLeBron may have gotten to 40k but the Blazers and Grizzlies both failed to get to 100 in regulation. Who’s to say which is more impressive. – 10:35 PM Tony Jones @TjonesonthenbaSo, that’s fubar on two counts.It looks like that was off JokicBut it was clearly a loose ball foulIn past NBA, refs don’t call that foul, but award the aggrieved team the basketballAnd that’s why this situation exists – 10:31 PM Dave McMenamin @mctenLeBron James scores 7 straight points in a span of 42 seconds to put the Lakers up 101-99 with 7:34 to go in the 4th Q. Timeout Denver. – 10:25 PM Tony Jones @TjonesonthenbaThe Nuggets had some fourth quarter separation, and then LeBron takes over for two and a half minutes. A three, a couple of buckets, he scores seven quickly and the Lakers take a 101-99 lead over Denver. Michael Malone calls time…James is suddenly up to 20 points and 9 assists – 10:25 PM Mike Trudell @LakersReporterA pair of 3’s from Porter Jr. (5 for 5 from 3) and Murray (his 1st) put Denver up 5, but LeBron responded with 7 straight points put LAL up 101-99 into a Nuggets time out with 7:34 to play. – 10:25 PM Ryan Ward @RyanWardLAJokic always looks like he’s been mauled by a tiger or something. Scratches all over his arms. Guy is pure magic on the basketball floor, tho. Lakers are in this one. – 10:16 PM Jovan Buha @jovanbuhaThird quarter: Lakers 89, Nuggets 89Denver outscored LA 31-23 in the third. Rui Hachimura leads LA w/ 23 points. AR has 14 points and 11 assists. AD has 15 points and 10 rebounds. LeBron has 13 points and 8 assists. DLo has 17 points (he’s just 1-for-6 since starting 5-for-7). – 10:16 PM Mike Trudell @LakersReporterJokic has 13 straight points for Denver, including a 3, and a banked-in fadeaway, that has the Nuggets up 88-87 despite Hachimura’s 3rd triple, plus a layup on the other end in the last 48 seconds. – 10:08 PM Jovan Buha @jovanbuhaHalftime: Lakers 66, Nuggets 58That was one of LA’s best offensive halves of the season. AD has 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. LeBron has 11 points and 6 assists (and 40,002 points and counting). AR has 9 points and 8 assists. DLo has 13 points. Rui has 13 points. – 9:36 PM Mike Trudell @LakersReporterRui Hachimura had only 2 points in LAL’s loss to Denver in February, but tonight, he’s up to 13 points on 6 of 7 FG’s after hitting a pull-up J to make it 58-47.He’s also been the primary defender on Jokic, allowing LAL to keep Davis off him and help close other gaps. – 9:27 PM Dave McMenamin @mctenNew story: LeBron, the youngest player to 1K, 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K, 6K, 7K, 8K, 9K, 10K, 11K, 12K, 13K, 14K, 15K, 16K, 17K, 18K, 19K, 20K, 21K, 22K, 23K, 24K, 25K, 26K, 27K, 28K, 29K, 30K, 31K, 32K, 33K, 34K, 35K, 36K, 37K, 38K; the 1st and only to 39K, 40K bit.ly/3P6WEdT – 9:24 PM Mike Trudell @LakersReporterLakers are letting Jokic attack Hachimura 1-on-1, with Davis helping when he can, and Jokic has 14 points on 7 of 12 FG’s but, importantly for LAL, only 1 assist in 13 minutes. – 9:24 PM Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothersA player breaking into the league today would need to average 25 points a game for 1600 games, or 19.51 seasons, to get to where LeBron is right now.Good luck with that. BK – 9:23 PM Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothersIf you took the average of the total points scored by me and LeBron James, he’d still be 56th all time. Right between John Stockton and Antawn Jamison. BK – 9:18 PM Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlinLeBron James is the fist player in NBA history to score 40,000 points. He needed only nine points to reach that milestone, which he accomplished at the top of the second quarter off a layup, drawing a raucous standing ovation from the crowd at Crypto. – 9:15 PM Ben Golliver @BenGolliverLakers’ LeBron James is the first NBA player to score 40,000 points.James scored his first 10,000 points in the exact same number of games as it took him to go from 30,000 to 40,000– 10K in 368 games– 10K to 20K in 358 games– 20K to 30K in 381 games– 30K to 40K in 368 games pic.twitter.com/mw5nkSizyy – 9:13 PM Mike Trudell @LakersReporterThere it is: @KingJames becomes the first NBA player to score 40,000 points, doing so on a left-handed layup after a pretty spin move. – 9:12 PM Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlinLeBron James is the fist player in NBA history to score 40,000 points. He needed only nine points to reach that milestone, which he accomplished at the top of the second quarter off a layup, drawing a raucous standing ovation from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena. – 9:11 PM Jovan Buha @jovanbuhaFirst quarter: Lakers 33, Nuggets 27An impressive first quarter for LA. They shot 61.9%, scoring 18 points in the paint and 7 in transition. Rui Hachimura has 9 points. AD has 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks (both on Nikola Jokic). LeBron has 5 points — he’s 4 away from 40K. – 9:06 PM Katy Winge @katywingeNikola Jokić telling LeBron James the Nuggets are going to stop him tonight and it getting picked up by the mic is the content I live for – 8:54 PM Mike Trudell @LakersReporterGood start for the Lakers, who hit 8 of 11 shots to open an 18-12 lead heading into the first time out.Rui Hachimura is 3 for 3 for 7 points, with Denver getting 6 points apiece from Jokic (3 for 6) and Porter Jr. (2 for 2 from 3). – 8:48 PM Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothersNice sequence for Rui. Held his position long enough against Jokic for AD to provide weakside help and a miss, then a three in transition. AK – 8:45 PM Sopan Deb @SopanDebWas just thinking about how after Game 1 of the WCF, pundits lined up to say that the Lakers had the series in the bag because Rui was guarding Jokic. – 8:43 PM Vinny Benedetto @VBenedettoMentions of how close the Western Conference Finals was in the first minute: 1Nikola Jokic buckets in the first minute: 2 – 8:43 PM Ryan Ward @RyanWardLAAnthony Davis (bilateral Achilles tendinopathy), LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) and Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain) have been upgraded to AVAILABLE for tonight’s game vs. Denver. – 7:59 PM More on this storyline StatMuse: Jokic tonight: 35 PTS 10 REB 7 AST 16-25 FG 8 straight wins against the Lakers. statmuse.com/nba/player/nik… -via Twitter @statmuse / March 2, 2024 Celtics stars, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, also addressed the booing, with Brown suggesting a universal approach. “Fans, you know, they do what they do. Whatever reason for that, I think we should boo every star player that comes into our arena. I would like to see that,” Brown stressed in a post-game conference. “Maybe it has an effect, maybe it doesn’t. When [Nikola] Jokic and all these other players come in here, boo them too.” -via BasketNews / March 2, 2024 Jamal Murray sprained his right ankle during the second quarter of the Nuggets’ win over the Miami Heat on Thursday night at Ball Arena. He didn’t return to the game as Reggie Jackson replaced him at starting point guard in the second half. The Nuggets won 103-97 to advance their win streak to five since the All-Star break. Murray appeared to land awkwardly on teammate Aaron Gordon’s foot under the basket after dishing an assist to Nikola Jokic. Murray initially got to his feet, but then sat back down on the baseline. He walked off the floor under his own power, but with a heavy limp. “I talked to him right at the half, and he thought he was gonna be able to try to maybe give it a go — see how it warmed up,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, not ruling out Murray’s availability Saturday at the Lakers. “And it just wasn’t responding the way he had hoped, so I think it was a smart decision not to have him out there. Just trying to be as careful as possible at this point of the season.” -via Denver Post / March 1, 2024