Lakers on brink of elimination after Game 3 loss to Nuggets
The Los Angeles Lakers are one game away from playoff elimination after losing their third straight game in a best-of-seven playoff series to the Denver Nuggets behind another commanding second-half effort from the reigning NBA champions.
“This [Nuggets] team is definitely well-equipped, well-prepared, and well-coached. They do not have a weakness offensively,” LeBron James said, according to Spectrum SportsNet. “They’ve been one of the best-starting fives in our league over the last few years.”
The Lakers have now lost 11 straight games to the Nuggets after their 112–105 loss in Game 3.
Despite yet another strong start with an 8–0 lead, fueled by a rocking Crypto.com crowd, the game ended with a similar outcome to the first two games. With a 33–23 edge at the end of the first quarter, the Lakers would slowly lose momentum as the game went on, getting outscored and outplayed by Denver 89–72 the rest of the way despite another halftime lead and double-digit advantage (12).
L.A. has led at halftime in all three losses in the series and, to make matters worse, has held a double-digit lead in all three, with the most being 20 in Game 2.
The jump start at home overshadowed the struggles that slowly caught up to them in the end — they started off making just one of their first 15 attempts from three, which lasted until the fourth quarter, finishing 5-for-27 (18.5%) from the 3-point line.
The Lakers chose the wrong day to shoot poorly from three, as Denver shot a similarly low percentage from three (17.9%). But with their struggles from shooting, they capitalized on their length advantage over L.A., out rebounding and overpowering them in the paint led by forward Aaron Gordon. The Lakers gave up double-digit offensive rebounds (14), a trend that has hurt them throughout the series, which led to 19 second-chance points
“I think Denver is just beating us, to be honest,” said guard Austin Reaves. You can talk about adjustments and all that… but at the end of the day, you got to man up and go win.”
Gordon, who gave the Lakers the most problems on the glass, finished with a career playoff-high 29 points and 15 rebounds (5 offensive) on the night.
The loss was surrounded by a number of struggles, as Anthony Davis (33 points, 15 rebounds), James (26 points, nine assists), and Austin Reaves (22 points) were the only Lakers to score more than eight points.
D’Angelo Russell, who has been the Lakers third best scoring option all season, faced a similar struggle to last season’s series with a scoreless effort in his 24 minutes on the court. This led to his minutes decreasing and eventually benched in the game because of a 0-for-7 (0-for-6 from three) shooting slump.
“It’s unfortunate,” said head coach Darvin Ham of Russell’s performance. “He had some good looks that he just didn’t knock down. It’s as simple as that. Similar to Game 1. He was able to bounce back in Game 2, and I expect him to bounce back in Game 4.”
The rest of the team would score 24 points combined between Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie.
Toward the end of the game, with the outcome already settled in Denver’s favor, the Lakers crowd had boos, early exits and even brief “fire Darvin” chants. Insinuating the team should fire Lakers head coach Ham, who’s on the brink of another series sweep to Denver.
Despite three straight losses in a series that feels all over with a defeated effort, there’s still hope for L.A., according to Davis and James. Saying the team needs to get one win and move from there to have a fighting chance to come back from 3–0 in the series.
“It’s one game at a time at this point,” James said. “As long as you still have life, then you always have belief; you play until the wheels fall off. That’s what it’s always about for me as a mindset.”
No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3–0 best-of-seven series deficit.
Game 4 will remain in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PST.
