Congratulations to the Denver Nuggets for sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 for their first ever NBA Finals appearance and playoff sweep (45th playoff series). After the Lakers led the Nuggets 73-58 at halftime, the Nuggets outscored the Lakers 55-38 to win Game 4 113-111. As a result, the Nuggets will get 9 days of rest before NBA Finals Game 1 on 6/1. The Nuggets are 12-3 in the playoffs, including 4-3 on the road. If the Heat beat the Celtics in Game 4, this will be the first time in NBA history that both the Western and Eastern Conference champions sweep their opponents.
The Lakers overcame tremendous adversity and odds to go from 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals. On 3/18, the Lakers were 34-37 and 11th in the Western Conference before winning 9 of their last 11 regular season games to finish 43-39. In a play-in game at home, the Lakers trailed the Minnesota Timberwolves 76-61 with 5:59 left in the 3rd quarter before defeating the Timberwolves 108-102 in overtime to enter the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The Lakers stunned No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies 4-2 and the No. 6 defending champion Golden State Warriors 4-2 to advance to the Western Conference Finals.