NBA Playoffs: The Nuggets are working against the Lakers to pick up where they left off last year

The Los Angeles Lakers got off to an ideal start on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets. LeBron James seemed to be the best player on the floor. Aaron Gordon, one of Denver's key defenders, found himself in foul trouble early on. D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis both made shots. In the second quarter they rose double-digit.

And then, like every game in the Western Conference finals last year, it no longer mattered.

After some early struggles, the Nuggets battled through against the Lakers and earned a 114-103 win in Game 1. They looked exactly like the unit that won Denver's first championship in franchise history last season, which is bad for a lot more teams than just the Lakers.

But it's worst for the Lakers, who have now lost nine straight games to Denver between the regular season and the playoffs. They last defeated the Nuggets on December 16, 2022.

Nikola Jokić was once again efficiently dominant, with 32 points on 15 of 23 shooting, 12 rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers. While he was on the floor, the Nuggets did things like this:

The Nuggets totaled four turnovers.

It should be said that the Lakers at least seemed to have a plan. They played the Nuggets' backcourt more aggressively than most teams dare, especially trying to make Jamal Murray uncomfortable. They also made sure Denver didn't catch them unprepared in transition. For the Nuggets, this led to missed throws for a while.

The tide turned late in the second quarter when the Lakers had their largest lead of the game at 12 points. The Nuggets responded with a 14-2 run to tie the game and then really went to work in the third quarter.

At this point, the Lakers looked exhausted and were starting to make some poor decisions. Several possessions ended the way Denver would have liked, such as a 3-point attempt by Davis, and it took a while for the Lakers to get back on their feet. They managed to reduce the lead to single digits midway through the fourth quarter, but they couldn't get any closer.

As in the last series, Russell ended up looking unplayable against a team that was fully prepared to exploit him on offense and deny him open shots on defense. He finished the night with 13 points on 6 of 20 shooting (1 of 9 from long range). It's not hard to imagine the Lakers having fewer minutes for him and more for the more defensive-minded Gabe Vincent for Game 2.

There is no denying that the Lakers gave it their all in this game. James played nearly 41 minutes and Davis topped 44. Their reward was a rested Nuggets team that showed little rust after a six-game layoff, and things won't get any easier from there.