The bling and the banner were nice. What the Denver Nuggets really relished, though, was opening defense of the franchise’s first NBA title with a 119-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
“We can’t think about last year too much,” Jamal Murray said after the Nuggets followed the raising of their championship banner by dropping the hammer on the Lakers in the NBA’s season opener, which featured Nikola Jokic’s triple-double and LeBron James taking a few more breathers than normal.
Jokic had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Jamal Murray added 21 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20, Aaron Gordon had 15 and Michael Porter Jr. had 12.