The Nuggets triumph once again against the Lakers and lead the West final 2-0

With 37 points from Jamal Murray and a 'triple-double' from Serbian Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets triumphed this Thursday 108-103 against the Los Angeles Lakers to go up 2-0 in the final series of the Western Conference of the nba.

The Nuggets remain perfect at home in these playoffs with an 8-0 record by taking a 2-0 lead in their third consecutive series of the postseason, a success based in large part on the performances of Jokic, two-time MVP and who this time added 23 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists.

This was the Serb's third triple double in the last six games.

The Nuggets secured a good drive for the win by winning the fourth quarter 32-24.

The next game in this best-of-seven series will be on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Murray and Jokic dominate

Murray scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter as Jokic notched his 13th playoff triple-double overall and the Nuggets have moved closer than ever in their history to reaching the NBA Finals.

Murray, who made just 5 of 17 shots in the first three quarters, noted that his team told him “to keep shooting. The good thing was that I didn't stop shooting.”

Saturday's Game will be at Crypto-com Arena, where LeBron James and the Lakers are also undefeated at 8-0.

LeBron said the Lakers, who have won seven straight at home starting with the play-in tournament, cannot afford to be complacent about a return to Crypto.com Arena.

“We can't go to any playoff game comfortably,” LeBron said.. “You have to be even more nervous when you go (play) home.”

Murray, vital to the Nuggets reaching the Western Conference finals in the 2020 playoffs, missed the last two postseasons after tearing a ligament in his left knee in April 2021.

Now, he faces the rest of the series with his team.

“The crowd is going to participate,” at Saturday's game in Los Angeles. The Lakers “are going to run, they are going to play with a lot of rhythm, a lot of energy. We have to be able to handle that,” Murray said.

The star player of the night missed 12 of his 17 shots in three quarters, but found his touch in the fourth, going 6-for-7, including four 3-pointers and fueling a 15-1 offensive run that gave Denver a 96-point lead. -84.

The Nuggets improved to 41-8 at home, best in the NBA, including 8-0 in the playoffs.

LeBron and Reaves each scored 22 for Los Angeles, while center Anthony Davis scored 18 after hitting 40 in the opener and Rui Hachimura had 21 points coming off the bench.

For much of the night, it looked as if the Lakers were going to wrest home-field advantage from the Nuggets, who are the top seed for the first time in their history.

Meanwhile, the Lakers won the first games of the series in Memphis and Golden State to reach a place in the Western Conference final.

The Lakers were somewhat limited in the first half by slow starts by LeBron and Davis, who limited each to two points in the first quarter.

The winner of this series will face the winner of the Eastern Conference between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics in the NBA grand final, a series that favors the first 1-0.