With another test of strength, los Denver Nuggets They beat the Los Angeles Lakers this Thursday for the eleventh consecutive time (112-105)this time at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and took 3-0 series lead of the first round of the NBA West playoffs.
The Nuggets, current champions, will be able to seal their place in the round this Saturday in Los Angeles and if they do so they would defeat the Lakers 4-0 for the second consecutive year after last year’s victory in the Western Conference finals. It was a tough blow for the Lakers and for LeBron James, who participated in 10 of his team’s 11 straight losses against Denver. King James has never lost so many consecutive times against an opponent in his 21 years in the NBA.
The Nuggets imposed their law with an amazing group performance led by Aaron Gordon, with a double double of 27 points and 15 rebounds. Serbian Nikola Jokic contributed a double double of 24 points and 15 rebounds, to which he added 9 assists; Jamal Murray, the hero of the second game, scored 22 points and distributed 10 assists, while Michael Porter Jr. scored 20 and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Lakers gave up despite 33 points and 15 rebounds from Anthony Davis and 26 points and 9 rebounds from LeBron James.
It was a night marked by the very low three-point percentages of both franchises. Both the Nuggets and the Lakers only connected on five. D’Angelo Russell, of the Lakers, suffered the most with 0 of 6 from the arc, 0 of 7 in total field goals. After making 7 triples in the second game, he ended up booed this Thursday and with 0 points.
The Nuggets Law
The Lakers had a twelve-point lead in a good start to the game, but their push lasted one quarter and faded into a very lackluster night from the goal. The Angelenos barely connected a triple in the first half and went to a poor 1 of 16 midway through the third period. The Nuggets never lost confidence and, after reducing the deficit from ten to four points at halftime, completed the comeback with a brilliant third period of 34-22. Jokic dedicated himself to distributing balls and giving rhythm to his teammates, without giving up attacking the basket, and Porter showed a stellar level, hitting shots from practically all positions that exacerbated the Lakers’ difficulties.
The Angelenos reached 1 of 16 from the arc when the Nuggets led by double digits at 91-80; On the other side of the court, D’Angelo Russell still couldn’t see the light and continued to miss from the arc. Without points, after being the protagonist in the second game with seven triples, the former Minnesota Timberwolves received boos from his audience.
Davis gave a valuable contribution in the paint and LeBron tried to rebel by taking more responsibility, but ‘King’ James also lacked success. The Nuggets dominated in rebounding and second-chance points and maintained a comfortable double-digit lead until the end. Jokic, forcing a foul from LeBron, raised the score to 107-93 with one minute remaining and turned the final seconds into a formality.