Jokic tries to stay on top and Embiid tries to stay on the court

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

It’s in the playoffs that their journeys are so different.

Jokic cemented his place among the game's greats by leading the Denver Nuggets to the NBA title last year, and he seems determined to stay at the top.

Embiid is just trying to stay on the field.

He's rarely been healthy enough to mount a true run at a championship and he's already not at full strength just one game into these playoffs.

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 even their series against the New York Knicks.

The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Orlando Magic in the other game on 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 continues to shine.

Embiid looked poised to have a dominant night against the Knicks before re-injuring his surgically repaired left knee after throwing the ball off the backboard and slamming it late in the first half. Last season's MVP and scoring champion returned and finished with 29 points, but he looked limited, going 2 of 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 playoff series. But he returned after being out two months following surgery on Feb. 6 to help the 76ers reach the playoffs, and his teammates weren't surprised he continued to play through pain in Game 1 .

“He’s still a fighter, he’s still 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'll definitely be there.

Donovan Mitchell battled his own knee problems in the second half of the season but looked fine with 30 points as Cleveland beat Orlando 97-83 on Saturday in a strong response to being mauled by the Knicks last year .

That's how the series is going to go, said Mitchell, who was so anxious for the first game that he only slept a few hours. How do you respond? This is my message all year. We were going to get beaten up. We were going to turn the ball over. We're going to have bad possessions.

We weren't going to shoot. Stuff like this is going to happen. This was a great answer.

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

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

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

INJURY MONITORING: A week of rest seemed to do wonders for Mitchell, who rushed with his usual momentum and lift. It will be interesting to see how he looks with just one day of recovery.

THE PRESSURE IS ON: Magic guard Jalen Suggs. He needs to try to contain Mitchell and provide something on offense after a 4-of-16 shooting performance that included 1-of-7 from 3. At least he made one shot, fellow Orlando guards Garry Harris, Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony was 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 to shoot 8-for-26 in Game 1, but other Knicks made them pay. Deuce McBride made five 3-pointers, Josh Hart four and Bojan Bogdanovic three.

KEEP AN EYE ON: The battle of the rebound. The Knicks attack the offensive boards as hard as anyone, and they grabbed 23 of them in Game 1 en route to a 55-33 overall advantage and a 26-8 advantage in second-chance points.

INJURY MONITORING: Embiid is listed as questionable again for Game 2. The Sixers cleared him to start Game 1 after completing his pregame workout and that could be the same plan Monday.

THE 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 himself.

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

MORE: The Nuggets got off to a slow start in their defense of the franchise's first NBA championship, but they dominated the Lakers most of the night in their first playoff game, outscoring them by 10 points at the end. both on second chances and in the paint. They also dominated LA 21-14 on quick blocks. Although LeBron James (27) and Anthony Davis (32) combined for 59 points, James had a quiet second half and committed seven of the Lakers' 12 turnovers while the Nuggets had just four, including just one by their starters.

KEEP AN EYE ON: Lakers guard DAngelo Russell, who missed 14 of 20 shots but didn't seem bothered by that 30% shooting clip, saying he was excited to make so many shots and thought he A larger percentage of them would fall in Game 2.

INJURY MONITORING: Lakers coach Darvin Ham said Sunday it was unclear when Christian Wood (knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) would be available to bolster a bench that has seen only one only player (Taurean Prince) score in the first game. Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray, who has missed seven straight games with a wobbly knee, went 39 minutes without any issues in Game 1.

THE PRESSURE IS LONG: Los Angeles, which has not beaten the Nuggets in almost 500 days. The Lakers have lost nine straight games to the Nuggets, although they have reached the line more than Denver in all nine games, making 204 free throw attempts during that stretch to the Nuggets' 130. On Saturday night, the Lakers were 17 of 19. from the stripe and Denver was just 5 of 6. When asked what he would do to rectify the disparity, Malone responded: Why should we? We continue to win. Seriously, Malone said it's not like his team is settling for jump shots. But we went into this series knowing 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.

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