LOS ANGELES – The defending champions Denver Nuggets, powered by 32 points from Nikola Jokic and a “mindset change”, shook off a slow start to beat LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 in Game 1 of their National Basketball Association (NBA) first-round series on April 20.

The Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in four games in the Western Conference Finals on the way to their first title last season, continued their dominance of star-studded Los Angeles, who had dropped all three regular-season meetings.