No. 3 Denver Nuggets (46-27) vs. No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers (52-19)
Season series: The Lakers went 3-1 against the Nuggets in the regular season.
Schedule: Game 1 is 8 p.m. Friday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in the best-of-seven series.
Story line: Denver reached the conference finals for only the second time by upsetting the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round in seven games. Can that momentum carry over to this series? The Lakers are playing for championship rings, nothing less for them.
Key matchup: Can someone slow down the Lakers' LeBron James? He is averaging 25.3 points while shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc. Teammate Anthony Davis is averaging 27.6 points and 10.9 rebounds in his past 10 games. Jamal Murray is averaging 26.7 points and 6.3 assists over the past 10 games for Denver. Nikola Jokic is averaging a team-high 7.0 assists for the Nuggets and 19.9 points per game.
Injury watch: Dion Waiter (groin) of the Lakers is day-to-day. Vlatko Cancar (foot) and Will Barton (knee) of the Nuggets are out.
Numbers of note: The Lakers have won two series 4-1; the Nuggets have rallied from 3-1 deficits twice. ASSOCIATED PRESS
