Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, left, shoots as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James defends during the first half in Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series on April 27 in Los Angeles.Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press
Denver is one win from returning to Round 2. And Oklahoma City is a win away from getting there for the first time since 2016.
A pair of first-round series may end on Monday night, when defending champion Denver plays host to the Los Angeles Lakers – the Nuggets lead 3-1 in that matchup – and West No. 1 seed Oklahoma City looks to finish off what would be a four-game sweep of New Orleans.
Also Monday: Boston, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and top overall seed in the NBA playoffs, will seek a 3-1 lead when it visits Miami.
“We have a chance to go home in front of the best fans in the world and try to close the series out,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
The Lakers staved off elimination and ended an 11-game losing streak to Denver with a 115-104 win in Game 4 on Saturday night. Lakers forward LeBron James has faced elimination 27 times in his career and his teams – Cleveland, Miami and now L.A. – are now 15-12 in those games.
“We’ve given ourselves another life,” James said. “We’ve given ourselves another lifeline. It’s a one-game series for us. Monday’s game is the most important game of the season for us and we understand that.”
Oklahoma City is trying for its first 4-0 sweep since Round 1 against Dallas in 2012.
There are parallels between that Thunder team and this one: both were division champions, both were a top-2 seed – No. 2 in 2012, No. 1 this year – and both teams had young starting lineups filled with promise. The 2012 team was led by a couple of kids named Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook; this Thunder team is seeing the Durant and Westbrook roles now filled by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
“If we don’t win this one, we’re out, so we don’t have anything to lose,” New Orleans forward Brandon Ingram said. “We got to go out here and just give it our all and continue to push from there. Maybe we find a rhythm in this next game and we can build off that.”
The Celtics won Game 1 over the short-handed Heat by 20, lost Game 2, then won Game 3 over the Heat by 20 again. And they seem to love playing in Miami.
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, including playoffs, Boston is 10-3 in Miami. Consider this: in that time span, 15 other teams – New York, Detroit, New Orleans, Portland, the Clippers, the Lakers, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Washington, Oklahoma City, Houston, Utah, Sacramento, Orlando and Charlotte – are a combined 10-55 in Miami.