Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) and guard Dennis Schroder (17) in game four of the Western Conference Finals for the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on May 22, 2023. (PHOTO / USA TODAY SPORTS VIA REUTERS)

LOS ANGELES — Nikola Jokic is a player unlike almost anything the NBA has ever seen, and now he's taking his Denver Nuggets somewhere they've never been.

Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in team history Monday night, sweeping the Western Conference finals with a 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James' 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit with a tenacious finish in Game 4 to earn their first conference title in their 47 NBA seasons.

"It's incredible," Murray said. "It's a lot of fun. It's surreal. We're going to keep making history, that's the thing. We're going to keep that mindset."

Jokic earned his eighth triple-double of the playoffs by the third quarter, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's 1967 NBA record for triple-doubles in a single postseason. The bulky Serbian center with a point guard's grace also led the Nuggets' gritty defensive effort despite picking up his fifth foul midway through the fourth quarter.

Jokic didn't leave the floor for the final 33 minutes of Game 4 — and when Denver needed a big basket, Jokic delivered that as well. He muscled past Anthony Davis for the game's final points on a layup with 51 seconds to play.

Nikola Jokic earned his eighth triple-double of the playoffs by the third quarter, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's 1967 NBA record for triple-doubles in a single postseason. The bulky Serbian center with a point guard's grace also led the Nuggets' gritty defensive effort despite picking up his fifth foul midway through the fourth quarter

"I think we understood what was at stake," Denver coach Michael Malone said. "You don't want to give a team like that (any chance). That's LeBron James over there. The way we came out in the third quarter showed me that we have a maturity about us and an understanding of how we need to play at this stage."

James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists after the highest-scoring postseason half of his career, but even the top scorer in NBA history couldn't keep the deep, dynamic Nuggets from their sixth consecutive victory overall.

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James missed two tying shots in the final seconds, with Aaron Gordon getting official credit for blocking his tying try at the buzzer.

"For that game to go down to the wire and for the ball to be in LeBron James' hands, those seconds were an eternity," Malone said. "When the buzzer went off, it was almost surreal for a second. Couldn't be more proud of this group."

The Nuggets will cap their superb season by playing for their first NBA championship. Denver eliminated the Lakers for the first time in eight playoff meetings and swept a playoff series for the first time, likely earning several days off before the finals.

Unless the Boston Celtics make history by rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the East finals, Denver will host the eighth-seeded Miami Heat to open the NBA Finals on June 1.

The Nuggets will cap their superb season by playing for their first NBA championship. Denver eliminated the Lakers for the first time in eight playoff meetings and swept a playoff series for the first time, likely earning several days off before the finals

The loss ended seventh-seeded Los Angeles' incredible turnaround after starting the season 2-10 under new coach Darvin Ham.

After bolstering their roster at the trade deadline and surging into the postseason, the Lakers then knocked off second-seeded Memphis and eliminated defending champion Golden State to stir their worldwide fans' hopes of one of the most unlikely championship runs in NBA history. But it wasn't to be.

"Nothing but love and respect for the Denver Nuggets," Ham said. "Love the way they play and what they are about. We also saw ways that ... I think we have an opportunity to do something special here, also, and we've just got to build off of this."

Tip-ins

Nuggets: Denver is yet to trail in any series this season. The Nuggets are 8-0 at home in the playoffs — 10-0 since March. Denver is 12-3 overall in the postseason.

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Lakers: James got an accidental 3-pointer in the first half when his lob pass to Rui Hachimura went in the basket. ... Kyrie Irving watched the game from courtside. The star free-agent guard has been linked to a reunion with James on the Lakers next season. Other fans at courtside included Vin Diesel, Adam Sandler and Aaron Donald.

Agencies via Xinhua