After defeating the Lakers 119-107, the Nuggets celebrate their first NBA title with a banner and rings.

Tuesday night, the Denver Nuggets hoisted their championship banner and crushed the Los Angeles Lakers 119-107 thanks to a triple-double from Nikola Jokic.

Jokic finished the NBA season with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Michael Porter Jr. scored 12, Aaron Gordon scored 15, and Jamal Murray scored 21 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points.

LeBron James, whose playing time is being watched at the beginning of his 21st season, topped all of LA’s starters in scoring with 21 points in just 29 minutes.

Anthony Davis had 17 points, Austin Reaves had 14, and D’Angelo Russell had 11. Taurean Prince scored 18 points in his Lakers debut, his fifth team in nine seasons. After falling behind by 18 points early on, the Lakers cut that lead to 63-54 at the half and utilised a 13-0 run in the third and fourth quarters to get within 87-84 before Aaron Gordon’s 3-pointer ended the rally. Too bad, the Lakers never made progress.

James’ jumper with just over five minutes remaining brought Los Angeles within 103-96, but the Nuggets called a timeout and emerged from it with a 10-3 run that included 3-pointers from Murray and Porter to comfortably defeat the Lakers.

In a pregame ceremony, the Nuggets were presented with their championship rings, studded with diamonds and made of gold.