A tale of two centers: Jokic is trying to stay on top and Embiid is trying to stay on the court

NEW YORK (AP) — Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid are the NBA's main men in the middle, the two centers combining for the last three MVP awards in the regular season with perhaps another coming soon.

It's in the postseason where their paths are so different.

Jokic cemented his place among the game's greats by leading the Denver Nuggets to last year's NBA title, and he appears intent on staying on top.

Embiid is just trying to stay on the court.

He rarely has been healthy enough to mount a real run at a championship and he's already at less than full strength just a game into this postseason.

Jokic will try to lead the Nuggets to a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, while the Philadelphia 76ers hope Embiid can help them tie up their series against the New York Knicks.

The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Orlando Magic in the other game Monday after winning the series opener.

Jokic had 32 points and 12 rebounds Saturday in Denver's 114-103 victory. He has scored 20 or more points in 20 consecutive playoff games.

“We see it all the time, man,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Nikola is a great player and the bigger the stage, the brighter the lights, he just continues to shine.”

Embiid seemed on his way to a dominant night against the Knicks before appearing to reinjure his surgically repaired left knee after throwing the ball off the backboard to himself and slamming it down late in the first half. Last season's MVP and scoring champion returned and finished with 29 points but appeared limited, going 2 for 11 after halftime and missing all five shots in the fourth quarter.

He has missed at least one game in each of the last three postseasons. But he returned after sitting out two months following Feb. 6 surgery to help the 76ers reach the playoffs, and his teammates weren't surprised he kept playing in pain in Game 1.

“He’s always a fighter, he’s always going to try to go out there and give his all for his team,” All-Star Tyrese Maxey said. “So if he’s able to go, if he thinks he can go, then he for sure will be out there.”

Donovan Mitchell had his own knee problems in the second half of the season, but he looked sharp with 30 points as Cleveland beat Orlando 97-83 on Saturday in a strong response after getting manhandled by the Knicks last year.

“That’s how the series is going to be,” said Mitchell, who was so anxious for Game 1 that he only got a few hours' sleep. “How do you respond? That’s been my message all year. We’re going to get beat up. We’re going to turn the ball over. We’re going to have bad possessions.

“We’re not going to make shots. Stuff like that’s going to happen. That was a great response.”

Cleveland leads 1-0. Game 2, 7 p.m. EDT, NBA TV/fubo

— NEED TO KNOW: The Cavs passed the first test. Bigger ones are coming. Lifted by a raucous crowd, Cleveland stood its ground when Orlando got feisty. Magic forward Franz Wagner’s rough play underneath led to some jawing, shoving and a pair of technical fouls. Expect the Magic to stay physical.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: Orlando’s Paolo Banchero. The All-Star forward scored 24 points in his playoff debut, but it took him a while to get going. Banchero was way too careless with the ball, committing nine of Orlando’s 12 turnovers. The Cavs did a nice job running an extra defender at Banchero, forcing him into uncomfortable situations.

— INJURY WATCH: A week of rest seemed to do wonders for Mitchell, who was darting around with his usual burst and lift. It will be interesting to see how he looks with just one recovery day.

— PRESSURE IS ON: Magic guard Jalen Suggs. He’s got to try and contain Mitchell and provide something on offense following a 4-of-16 shooting performance that included 1 of 7 on 3s. At least he made a shot; Orlando’s other guards, Garry Harris, Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony, were a combined 0 for 17.

New York leads 1-0. Game 2, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT

— NEED TO KNOW: The 76ers forced All-Star Jalen Brunson into 8-for-26 shooting in Game 1 but other Knicks players made them pay. Deuce McBride made five 3-pointers, Josh Hart four and Bojan Bogdanovic three.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: The rebound battle. The Knicks go after offensive boards as hard as anybody, and they grabbed 23 in Game 1 en route to a 55-33 advantage overall and a 26-8 edge in second-chance points.

— INJURY WATCH: Embiid is again listed as questionable for Game 2. The Sixers cleared him to start in Game 1 after he went through his pregame workout and that may be the same plan Monday. Maxey was added to the injury report Monday morning, also listed as questionable with an illness after scoring 33 points in Game 1.

— PRESSURE IS ON: Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. Embiid needs help on the boards if he's limited, and the starting forwards' combined 12 rebounds were one fewer than Hart had himself.

Nuggets lead 1-0. Game 2, 10 p.m. EDT, TNT

— NEED TO KNOW: The Nuggets got off to a slow start to begin defense of the franchise’s first NBA championship, but they dominated the Lakers most of the night in their playoff opener, outscoring them by 10 points both on second chances and in the paint. They also outscored LA 21-14 on fast breaks. Although LeBron James (27) and Anthony Davis (32) combined for 59 points, James had a quiet second half and he committed seven of the Lakers’ 12 turnovers while the Nuggets had only four, including just one by their starters.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, who missed 14 of 20 shots but seemed unbothered by that 30% shooting clip, saying he was thrilled to get that many shots off and figures a bigger percentage of them will fall in Game 2.

— INJURY WATCH: Lakers coach Darvin Ham said Sunday it's unclear when Christian Wood (knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will be available to bolster a bench that saw just one player (Taurean Prince) score in Game 1. Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray, who missed seven games down the stretch with a balky knee, logged 39 minutes without any trouble in Game 1.

— PRESSURE IS ON: Los Angeles, which hasn’t beaten the Nuggets in almost 500 days. The Lakers have lost nine in a row to the Nuggets even though they’ve gotten to the line more than Denver did in all nine games, taking 204 free throw attempts during that streak to the Nuggets’ 130. On Saturday night, the Lakers were 17 of 19 from the stripe and Denver was just 5 of 6. Asked what he'd do to rectify the disparity, Malone cracked: “Why should we? We keep winning.” Seriously, though, Malone said it's not like his team just settles for jump shots. “But we went into this series knowing that they had a plus-500 differential this year.”

AP Sports Writers Pat Graham and Arnie Stapleton in Denver, and Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) goes up to shoot against Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, during the second half in Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) dunks past Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the second half in Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) dunks against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half in Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and Kyle Lowry (7) react during the first half in Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Lauren Coughlin held onto the lead Friday in the CPKC Women’s Open, while Canadian star Brooke Henderson was derailed by closing bogeys at windy and smokey Earl Grey Golf Club.

Coughlin followed her opening 4-under 68 on Thursday in chilly and windy conditions with a 70 on Friday to get to 6 under, a stroke ahead of Hannah Green and Haeran Ryu. The temperature made it into the 70s after barely climbing into the 60s on Thursday.

“I think I handled it really well overall,” Coughlin said. “It was just really difficult to judge how far the ball was going to go with the wind and the crosswind and how firm the greens got. And they had some tough pins, especially considering the direction of the wind.”

Playing through a smokey haze from wildfires, Henderson bogeyed the final four holes in her afternoon round for a 73 that left her seven strokes back at 1 over. She won the 2018 tournament.

“Most of the day I was 3 under, so feeling pretty great,” Henderson said. “To walk away 1 over, that’s not the best feeling. But all you can do is move forward and try to learn from some of the things you did out there.”

Coughlin is coming off a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in France in the major Evian Champions. The 31-year-old former University of Virginia player is winless on the LPGA Tour.

On Friday, she had three front-none birdies and dropped a stroke on the par-4 11th. In two rounds, she's 7 under on the first nine holes and 1 over on the second nine.

“I putted extremely well,” Coughlin said. “Two-putted really well all day. Took advantage of the front nine, which you have to, and then kind of hold on on the back nine.”

Green matched Coughlin with a 70. The Australian is a two-time winner this year, taking the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in February and the JM Eagle LA Championship in April.

“It was tough again out there,” Green said. “There was some pretty strong wind gusts, especially our last few holes, so committing to the shot you were envisioning was kind of difficult.”

Ryu bogeyed the 18th for 69.

“The weather is really bad,” Ryu said. “Is a little bit cold and so windy.”

The 23-year-old South Korean player won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last year for her first LPGA Tour title. She was second last week in Ohio in the Dana Open.

Three-time champion Lydia Ko had a 71 to join second-ranked Lilia Vu (70) and Jennifer Kupcho (72) at 3 under. Ko won as an amateur in 2012 at age 15, successfully defended her title as an amateur in 2013 and won as a professional in 2015.

“It’s not easy — and I think the scores are showing,” Ko said. “Anything kind of under par the past couple days is a really solid round. I’m pretty happy with the way I started this week.”

Kupcho topped the leaderboard at 8 under after birdieing five of the first eight holes in her morning round, then was 5 over the rest of the way. She had a double bogey on the par-4 16th, four bogeys and a birdie on her final nine holes.

“I’m pretty upset,” Kupcho said. “I think in hindsight I still hit 15 greens. Like I was hitting the ball really good. Three-putted 10 and 11 and four-putted 16. I didn’t play bad. Just had a couple shaky putts down the stretch — and that’s going to happen.”

Lexi Thompson was in the group with Henderson tied for 26th at 1 over after a 73 The American plans to play a limited schedule after this season.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Lexi Thompson, of the United States, chips on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, watches her tee shot on the fifteenth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, lines up a putt on the fourteenth green during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

New Zealand's Lydia Ko hits a tee shot on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Korea's Haeran Ryu hits a tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Brooke Henderson hits a tee shot on the second hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits from the fairway on the sixth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)