Due to a slew of fouls, Nikola Jokic was far from his normal dominant form, and Jamal Murray lost his steam after a blazing first half. In the fourth quarter of Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets, the large early advantage completely vanished, sending the Lakers’ home audience into a frenzy.
With a 119-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, Jamal Murray scored 37 points, Nikola Jokic added 24 points and eight assists, and the Denver Nuggets 바카라사이트 advanced to a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. The top-seeded Nuggets, who have never been this close to the NBA Finals in their 47-year history, were led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the second half against his old team.
The Nuggets handled every setback with grace and a champion’s poise before slowly and methodically seizing the initiative. They’ll finally have the opportunity to compete for their first rings with one more triumph.
Despite blowing a 14-point lead in Game 3, Denver went on a decisive 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to halt the Lakers’ nine-game home winning streak since March 26, which included seven straight victories since the regular season ended.
“I learn a lot about this team every time we play,” Caldwell-Pope said. “We have that dog mentality where no matter if we’re up, down, we’re going to continue to fight and play our game, and do it at a high level. We’re going to continue to do that for the rest of these games.”
“This group is capable of doing great things, and they believe,” Malone said. “Belief is a very powerful thing.”
The powerful Nuggets, who have won five straight playoff games, ultimately stopped Los Angeles’ protracted, frantic surge since the trade deadline.
LeBron James led Los Angeles with 23 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds. He also made three 3-pointers after going 0 for 13 in the first 13 games of the series. Rui Hachimura was the only other Lakers player to reach double digits with 13 points, while Austin Reaves contributed 23 points and seven rebounds.
“They’ve been at the top of the food chain for a reason, and have a plethora of guys that can hurt you, as was on full display tonight,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “But you 스포츠토토 know, circumstances are what they are. Difficult, but not impossible.”
For the 17-time champion franchise’s first conference finals games at home since 2010, the Lakers’ fervent supporters showed up in force. James played 43 minutes after spraining his left ankle in Game 2 and already having a sore right foot as Los Angeles urgently fought to even the series.
Murray, a Canadian guard, scored 17 points in the first quarter and 26 by the halfway point of the second, despite the Nuggets’ trip to the shore. Reaves kept LA in the game with 15 points, three assists, and three rebounds just in the second period.
The Nuggets rallied to retake the lead, led by Brown’s 3-pointer with 7:02 remaining. Brown then mocked the Lakers’ bench with Los Angeles’ own “Freeze” 3-point celebration. Hachimura’s 3-pointer gave the Lakers their first lead since the game’s opening minutes.
In NBA history, no team has ever come back from a 3-0 series disadvantage. Game 4 is Monday night in Los Angeles.