The Los Angeles Lakers lost 103-114 to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the first round of the NBA's Western Conference playoffs in the 2023-2024 season at Denver Ball Arena, Colorado, on the 21st (Korea Standard Time).

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Denver, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, had a clear series advantage. The Lakers, who met Denver as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference through a play-in tournament, swallowed up their disappointment by losing Game 1.

Denver is a bad choice for the Lakers. Last season, the two teams met in the first round of the playoffs as well. The Lakers had four consecutive losses at the time, and they had to resign. In this regular season's face-to-face confrontation, the Lakers lost every game in Denver.

The Lakers have not beaten Denver since Dec. 17, 2022. Even in this game, Lakers players did not overcome the Denver trauma.

Denver manager Mike Malone said, "The Lakers are a good team. They showed us why they came to the playoffs. LeBron, in particular, is always a threat. He is a player who can score more than 50 points at any time," and added, "It will be a great series against the Lakers."

Again, the Lakers failed to stop Nikola Jokic. Jokic led the team to victory with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Jamal Murray contributed with 22 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists. Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points and eight rebounds, Aaron Gordon had 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Kentavius Caldwell-Pope had 12 points and three steals, with all five of his main players scoring in double digits.

The Lakers faced LeBron James with 27 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Anthony Davis with 32 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks, but it was not enough.

"I think we had a good game today (on the 21st). Of course, we could have played a better game," LeBron said after the game. "Denver is a team that has experienced everything. It is a defending champion. You have to pay attention to both offense and defense against Denver. In particular, we should not give additional ownership based on offensive rebounds," he said. "We don't think about starting over. If we win just one game, we can bring home court advantage. We have another chance. We can get better on the 23rd." He did not give up.