NBA

• Nuggets 113, Lakers 111
  • Denver has fielded plenty of teams ranging from pretty good to good over the last 20 years, but it’s fitting that this particular squad is the first in franchise history to advance to the Finals. Michael Malone treated this game like a Game 7, playing each of his starters 39 or more minutes, and the extra urgency was needed for his team to prevail. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Nikola Jokic is the best player in basketball, and the superstar center furthered that notion last night, posting 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists. It might be silly to dismiss the Heat, but if the Nuggets’ opponent in the Finals is indeed Miami, the series probably won’t extend further than five games. This Denver team is on a mission, and that mission will be completed by mid June.
  • After spending a decent portion of the regular season in 13th place in the Western Conference, the Lakers did an excellent job of flipping the script and making the conference finals. Unfortunately, the Nuggets are the far superior team, and the result of this series reflected that. Following Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals when LeBron James played 48 minutes in a Cavaliers victory, I thought the days of him playing the whole game were over. Yesterday, James impressively proved me wrong, playing the duration of this contest and scoring 40 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out nine assists. The future for the Lakers is a bit murky — LeBron James and Anthony Davis are only under club control through next season, and plenty of role players for Los Angeles are on expiring deals. Rob Pelinka will have a lot on his plate this summer.

MLB

• Guardians 3, White Sox 0
  • The White Sox have plenty of problems, but the struggles of Tim Anderson have to be at the forefront, or at least close to it. The shortstop has always been a steady player for Chicago, but his play has been poor in 2023 — both at the plate and in the field. Anderson is slashing .246/.287/.287 with zero home runs this season. It’s never a good sign when none of the figures in a player’s slash line start with a number higher than two.
• Diamondbacks 6, Phillies 3
  • Lourdes Gurriel was kind of an afterthought in the Blue Jays-Diamondbacks trade this past offseason, but adding him is paying huge dividends for Arizona. Owner of an active 15-game hitting streak, Gurriel has an OPS of .938, and is a key cog of a fun, upstart Diamondbacks team.
• Reds 6, Cardinals 5
  • The NL Central isn’t nearly as bad as its AL counterpart, but it’s down enough that the Reds, rebuilding and trotting out lots of inexperienced players, are just 5.0 games back at 20-27.
  • What a rebirth 2023 has been for Paul DeJong. The shortstop endured three fairly brutal seasons from 2020-2022, but the misery has been put to an end thanks to DeJong rediscovering his stroke at the plate. The 29-year-old went 2-5 with a home run and four RBIs last night.
• Rays 6, Blue Jays 4
  • The Rays have games where their slugging makes even the 2019 Twins jealous. Last night was one of those instances. Randy Arozarena has been a big part of Tampa Bay’s home run party this season, and he hit one in this game — his 11th of the season.