Denver Nuggets picked up an impressive 114-106 Game 3 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday to cut the Lakers’ Western Conference finals lead to 2-1.
After trailing by as much as 20 points — the most they’ve fallen behind by in any game during the entire NBA playoffs — the Lakers came back in the fourth quarter and closed the gap to just three points, the closest they’d get, though, as the Nuggets outlasted them in the final quarter to beat them.
Nikola Jokic had another strong game for the Nuggets, with Jerami Grant coming up with a huge offensive performance. LeBron James and Anthony Davis again led the way for the Lakers, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope adding some in scoring. Nuggets will look to ride the momentum and tie the series in Game 4 on Thursday.
Jamal Murray had 28 points, 12 assists and two late 3-pointers to halt a Lakers charge.
“Everybody always has us packing our bags and leaving, but we’re not ready to go. For some reason we love this bubble.”
-, MichaEL malone
Denver has set a new record by coming back from two 3-1 deficits in this postseason, but no NBA team has ever come back from 3-0.
LeBron James had 30 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds – his 26th playoff triple-double — for the Lakers, who remain two wins from their first NBA Finals appearance in a decade. Anthony Davis, who made the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in Game 2, scored 27 points.
Rajon Rondo surpassed Lakers legend and icon, Kobe Bryant, on the coveted All time Playoffs assists leaderboard. His chemistry with the Lakers, along with backdoor cuts has kept the Lakers alive and kicking during LeBron James’s rest on the bench.
While the Lakers still shot a respectable 51.8% from the field, they were abysmal from behind the 3-point line, making just 6 of their 26 attempts. Anthony Davis shot 0-4 from behind the arc.
🃏 22 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST for Joker in G3! 🃏
Game 4: Thursday, 9 PM ET, TNT pic.twitter.com/CWVYsb3b8n
— NBA (@NBA) September 23, 2020
In 41:59, Davis recorded only 2 rebounds. No one on the team outside of LeBron James recorded more than five rebounds.
Denver’s last halftime lead had been a 59-57 edge over the Clippers in Game 3 of the West semifinals.
Michael Malone discusses the familiar territory his @nuggets are in looking ahead to Thursday's Game 4 on TNT. pic.twitter.com/oETApGjUz2
— NBA (@NBA) September 23, 2020
The Lakers, on the other hand, played like they knew that they’d still be up 2-0 in the series if they lost this game with the exception of the the fourth quarter.
With Game 4 on Thursday, Frank Vogel’s men will be aiming to not let their guard down and inch closer to their first NBA finals in a decade in the Orlando bubble.
ALSO READ :
NBA Playoffs: Anthony Davis’ masterclass helps Lakers to a 2-0 lead against Denver Nuggets
