Nikola Jokic has been as good as anybody in basketball over the past three seasons, and the Denver Nuggets’ big man now will get the NBA Finals stage to show it.

Jokic and his teammates overcame LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers as the visiting Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history with a 113-111 victory on Monday and a four-game sweep in the Western Conference finals.

The two-time MVP scored 30 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 13 assists for his fifth triple-double in his past six games. He set a record for total triple-doubles in a single playoff run with eight, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain, who had seven for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967.

Jamal Murray scored 25 points and Aaron Gordon added 22 for the Nuggets, who trailed by 15 points at halftime and weathered a 31-point first half from James.

“We don’t give up,” Jokic said on the ESPN broadcast. “I’ve been saying this the last five years, when we were bad, we were good, we don’t give up. That’s what happened today. They jumped on us in the first half, they were aggressive, they were scoring easy. But in the second half, we turned the page and everybody was stepping up.”

Denver swept the series after losing once in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves and twice in the second round to the Phoenix Suns.

The Western Conference’s top seed will now await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals, in which the Miami Heat have a 3-0 lead over the Boston Celtics. There has never been a pair of conference-finals sweeps in NBA history.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for June 1 in Denver or Boston.

James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, cooling off from a 21-point first quarter when he was 7 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from 3-point range. He played all but 4.3 seconds in the game while setting a playoff career high for points during any half.

James’ last-second shot attempt inside the paint to tie the game was tied up by Murray and blocked by Gordon.

“I thought (James) came out with a mindset to keep this (series) going,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “He came into the building as he’s been all year, all throughout the playoffs, with a focus and a determination to get it done by any means necessary.

“I just thanked them all. The competitive spirit was phenomenal from Day 1.”

Davis scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, while Austin Reaves had 17 points, Dennis Schroder added 13 and Rui Hachimura contributed 10.

The Nuggets opened the second half with a 9-2 run to pull within 75-67. They got to within 79-78 with 6:27 remaining in the third quarter on a jumper from Murray and pulled in front 83-81 on a three-point play by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 4:39 remaining in the third.

Denver led 94-89 entering the final period, with Jokic already having recorded his triple-double.

“For me, (Jokic) hasn’t proven anything (new) because I already know he’s a great player,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “But I think he’s shown other people nationally that he’s real, what he’s doing is real, the MVPs are real, the triple-doubles are real. All the silly narratives this year are just that, silly and ignorant.

“I think Nikola has gone through three rounds where he’s averaging a triple-double. Have you seen any stat padding out there? I’m serious. Enough with the silliness. The guy is a great player. Give him his damn respect.”

The Lakers tied the game 102-102 on a putback dunk by Davis with 5:02 remaining. However, Murray was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three foul shots, the Lakers had consecutive misses from 3-point range and Gordon’s dunk put Denver up 107-102 with 3:34 left.

Los Angeles came back again to tie the game 111-111 on a pair of Davis free throws with 1:13 remaining before Jokic put the Nuggets back on top 113-111 on a layup with 51.7 seconds remaining. Neither team scored again.

“To get the first Western Conference championship in franchise history, it means a lot,” Malone said. “But I speak for 17 players in that locker room, and the entire organization: We are not satisfied. We can enjoy it for a moment. I think it’s gonna be a hell of a plane ride home, but we have a lot of work to do.”

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Raptors interviewed former Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash for the head coaching vacancy, The Athletic reported Monday.

Nash left the Nets just seven games into the 2022-23 season in what the sides called a mutual parting of ways.

Nash went 94-67 in two-plus seasons in Brooklyn. The Nets tabbed Jacque Vaughn as interim head coach before naming him to the permanent post in November.

The Raptors fired Nick Nurse late last month after five seasons and an NBA title, looking for a reset on the “spirit of who we are,” Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said.

Nurse compiled a 227-163 record during his five seasons as head coach of the Raptors.

While in Brooklyn, Nash had to deal with Kyrie Irving limited to playing road games in 2021-22 over his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Nash also dealt with the trading of James Harden to Philadelphia in exchange for Ben Simmons, who didn’t play at all in 2021-22. Mega-star Kevin Durant played in just 55 games during the 2021-22 season.

Nash, who attended high school in Victoria, British Columbia, played 18 seasons in the NBA and averaged 14.3 points with 8.5 assists in 1,217 games for the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers.

–Field Level Media

The Milwaukee Bucks have narrowed their coaching search to three finalists — Nick Nurse, Kenny Atkinson and Adrian Griffin — ESPN reported Monday.

The trio will be engaged with Bucks’ leadership this week, per the report. Nurse, however, is also in the mix in the Philadelphia and Phoenix coaching searches.

The Bucks are replacing Mike Budenholzer, who was fired earlier this month after five seasons and an NBA championship.

Nurse, 55, also parted ways with Toronto after five seasons and the 2019 NBA title.

Atkinson, 55, has been an assistant coach in Golden State the past two seasons. He left the Charlotte Hornets at the altar last year after agreeing to become their new coach but then changing his mind. He went 118-190 in four seasons as the Brooklyn Nets’ head coach from 2016-20.

Griffin, 48, has never been an NBA head coach and was an assistant to Nurse in Toronto.

Other candidates for the post were Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Portland’s Scott Brooks, Miami’s Chris Quinn, Phoenix’s Kevin Young and former Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego. The Bucks also reportedly interviewed Kelvin Sampson and Washington Wizards assistant Joseph Blair.

Budenholzer, 53, was 271-120 in Milwaukee, making the playoffs every year and winning the title in 2021.

–Field Level Media

Perhaps their underdog status will propel the Denver Nuggets toward their goal of completing an improbable sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

The Lakers are 3.5-point favorites by BetMGM at home ahead of Game 4 on Monday night, but it’s the Nuggets who have been backed by 76 percent of the spread-line bets and 85 percent of the money. The line is 3.0 at BetRivers, which has caused a bit more split action, with Denver drawing 68 percent of the total bets but Los Angeles backed by 80 percent of the money.

ONE FROM HISTORY

The Nuggets are seeking to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. They get their first crack at it on Monday, following a 119-108 win in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The Lakers erased all of a double-digit deficit in the first half to lead 94-93 with 7:48 remaining. But the Nuggets went on a decisive 13-0 run to take a 106-94 lead on a Nikola Jokic shot with 4:50 left. It was a three-minute stretch that brought Denver to the brink of where it has never been before.

Jokic scored 24 points with eight assists and six rebounds, with his effectiveness diminished by early foul trouble. The effort ended his run of four consecutive playoff triple-doubles. Jamal Murray stepped up with 30 first-half points and 37 for the game, while former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 17.

“I never doubted my team,” Jokic said. “I know they’re capable. You saw it in the third quarter. (Caldwell-Pope) had a huge segment, like four minutes. He had a big box-out on (Anthony Davis), he had a steal, he had a big 3-pointer. We have some really good players that can step up in the right moment, and that’s what we did.”

The Nuggets essentially get four chances to advance, with two of those at home, if necessary. If the Lakers can earn a victory in Game 4, the series would shift to Denver for Game 5 on Wednesday.

“I know it’s cliche, but that next-man-up mentality has really served us well over the years,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said.

LAKERS RUNNING ON FUMES?

The Lakers’ impressive run through the postseason looks to have run out of steam. They needed to get through the play-in tournament just to get into the playoff field and then got through the No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round and the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the second round.

And while the Lakers have been competitive in all three games of the Western Conference finals, they have lacked the finishing kick needed to take a game.

“I mean, I think the deficit is 3-0, not 4-0, so as long as they have not gotten to four yet, there’s still hope,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said. “We’re still alive. We just have to focus on winning one game.”

Davis scored 28 points with 18 rebounds in Game 3, while LeBron James and Austin Reaves each scored 23. James added 12 assists. On defense, the Lakers watched the Nuggets shoot 60.0 percent in the fourth quarter. Denver also recorded 30 assists and committed just six turnovers.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

The Lakers are +1400 at BetRivers to mount a miraculous comeback and win the series. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are -5000 to win the series and much of the attention has already turned toward their chances of winning a first NBA title for the franchise.

Denver opened at +1000 to win the title at BetMGM but now stands as the -225 favorite. The Nuggets, who have now drawn 16.3 percent of the total title-winning tickets and 20.2 percent of the money, are also the sportsbook’s biggest liability.

The Miami Heat, who enjoy their own 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals, have the second shortest odds at +250. The Boston Celtics are +1400, followed by the Lakers at +3000.

“I can’t speak for the guys right now because I don’t know what’s going on through all their minds right now, but I still (have belief),” James said. “So you know, it’s time to go right back home and start to refuel and start the treatment process and recovery process and get ready for Monday. My mindset is always locked in as if it’s Game 1.”

The most popular prop pick ahead of Game 4 on Monday night at BetMGM is for the Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. at -120 to record more than 8.5 combined rebounds and assists. That’s followed by Lakers sharpshooter Reaves being offered at -110 to have more than 26.5 combined points, rebounds and assists.

The 220.5-point Over/Under has moved to 224.5 points with the Over being backed by 65 percent of the bets and 76 percent of the money. The same point total at BetMGM has seen the Over draw 30 percent of the bets, but some large wagers leading to the Under being backed by a whopping 72 percent of the money.

–Field Level Media