Los Angeles Lakers (47-35, eighth in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (57-25, second in the Western Conference)
Denver; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Nuggets -7.5; over/under is 223.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Nuggets host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers in game one of the Western Conference first round. Denver went 3-0 against Los Angeles during the regular season. The Nuggets won the last regular season matchup 124-114 on March 3 led by 35 points from Nikola Jokic, while LeBron James scored 26 points for the Lakers.
The Nuggets are 33-19 against Western Conference opponents. Denver averages 114.9 points while outscoring opponents by 5.3 points per game.
The Lakers are 27-25 in Western Conference play. Los Angeles is fifth in the league with 28.5 assists per game led by James averaging 8.3.
The Nuggets score 114.9 points per game, 2.5 fewer points than the 117.4 the Lakers give up. The Lakers score 8.4 more points per game (118.0) than the Nuggets give up to opponents (109.6).
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 15.6 points over the last 10 games.
Anthony Davis is averaging 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocks for the Lakers. James is averaging 24.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 6-4, averaging 115.0 points, 45.9 rebounds, 30.6 assists, 7.6 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.7 points per game.
Lakers: 7-3, averaging 119.5 points, 43.6 rebounds, 28.3 assists, 7.8 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 50.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.4 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Vlatko Cancar: out (knee), Collin Gillespie: day to day (knee).
Lakers: Cam Reddish: day to day (ankle), Christian Wood: out (knee), Jarred Vanderbilt: out (foot), Jalen Hood-Schifino: out (back).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
