Denver hosts Los Angeles with 1-0 series lead

Los Angeles Lakers (43-39, seventh in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (53-29, first in the Western Conference)

Denver; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

: Nuggets -5.5; over/under is 226.5

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Nuggets lead series 1-0

BOTTOM LINE: The Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Nuggets won the last meeting 132-126 on May 17 led by 34 points from Nikola Jokic, while Anthony Davis scored 40 points for the Lakers.

The Nuggets are 34-18 in Western Conference games. Denver averages 115.8 points while outscoring opponents by 3.3 points per game.

The Lakers have gone 27-25 against Western Conference opponents. Los Angeles has a 19-19 record in games decided by 10 points or more.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jamal Murray is averaging 20 points and 6.2 assists for the Nuggets. Jokic is averaging 33.2 points over the last 10 games for Denver.

D’Angelo Russell is scoring 17.8 points per game and averaging 3.0 rebounds for the Lakers. LeBron James is averaging 23.3 points and 10.0 rebounds over the last 10 games for Los Angeles.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 117.5 points, 44.5 rebounds, 25.6 assists, 7.6 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.6 points per game.

Lakers: 6-4, averaging 114.3 points, 45.1 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 6.8 steals and 6.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.3 points.

INJURIES: Nuggets: None listed.

Lakers: Mo Bamba: out (ankle).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.