LeBron James tried everything he could, including scoring the most points in a playoff half in his storied career, yet it wasn’t enough to stop Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets from reaching their first-ever NBA Finals.
In a scintillating playoff duel with James, Jokic turned in yet another triple-double Monday night to help the Nuggets complete their first playoff sweep in franchise history with a 113-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena.
He ended the night by questioning how much longer he plans to chase history after his Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals.
Jokic — who was named the Magic Johnson Western Conference finals MVP — fended off an incredible throwback performance from James, who scored 31 points in the first half before finishing with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 48 minutes.
James, 38, became the oldest player in NBA history to score 40 points in a playoff game.