This series is all but wrapped up now. The Denver Nuggets are now just a win away from being in the NBA Finals as they thumped the Lakers 119-108 to go up 3-0 in the series, all but ending any hope of an LA comeback.
Not even the greatness of LeBron James and Anthony Davis could prevent this Nuggets team from digging their way to NBA Finals gold!
Okay, that was a horrible pun, but it’s true the Lakers have put up little resistance to the Nuggets onslaught as Denver is now just a single win away from reaching the team’s first NBA Finals ever with a 119-108 win in Game 3. And, even though the Lakers have the talent to force this series out a little longer, I think they’re getting swept Monday night.
This was a statement win if I’ve ever seen one. Despite having terrible halves from Nikola Jokic (1st half) and Jamal Murray (2nd half), the Denver Nuggets never looked bothered by the Lakers once as they opened the game with a 24-10 lead, they won the 1st quarter and 4th quarters by at least 9 points, they held leads as large as 14 points on multiple occasions, and once again destroyed the Lakers from beyond the arc.
Sure, the Lakers were able to cut down the 14+ point leads a few times and even took an 87-86 lead with 9 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter (the last time they lead in this game), but that was the extent of the Lakers pushback as the Nuggets would simply overwhelm them with 3-pointers to take all the life and air out both the LA players and crowd.
Seriously, the Nuggets were lethal from the floor as they converted 44-88 FG attempts (50.o%), 17-41 3-point attempts (41.5%), and made 14-19 free throws (73.7%) against one of the best defenses coming into the series (Lakers defense: averaged 109.7 PPG/against).
Jamal Murray was the catalyst for the Nuggets early leads as he simply couldn’t miss as he ended the game with 37 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST, 2 STLS, 15-29 FG shooting (52%), and 5-11 3-point shooting (45%), while Nikola Jokic (24 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL) steady the offense in the second half and got guys like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (17 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-7 3-point shooting), Michael Porter Jr. (14 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 4-10 3-point shooting), and Bruce Brown (15 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL) firing out of their cold streaks to start off the game.
As I’ve said many times this postseason, The Joker is quite literally the greatest phenomena in the NBA right now as his worst games (which this one was) still sees him scoring 20+ points, gathering 6 rebounds, putting up 8 assists, and facilitating a Nuggets offense that shot 50% and 41.5% from the field and beyond the arc, respectively. How are you supposed to stop someone who can score like that on his worst day?
I’m not sure how the Lakers, a team which is just not up to par against the best in the league, was ever going to contend with a juggernaut like the Nuggets over a 7-game series, but converting just 38-84 FGs (45.2%), 10-32 3-point FGs (31.3%), and 22-29 free throws (75.9%) was obviously not going to cut it.
Yes, these stats will get you over the line against the self-imploding Memphis Grizzlies and a decaying Warriors dynasty, but they won’t lay a glove on a super team like the Nuggets. I knew the Lakers had given their all in Games 1 and 2 and those late turnover by LeBron James were going to cost them in the end, but I didn’t expect the Nuggets to be on the verge of sweeping this Laker team.
I thought guys like LeBron James (23 PTS, 7 REB, 12 AST), Anthony Davis (28 PTS, 17 REB, 1 AST, 2 BLKS), Austin Reaves (23 PTS, 7 REB 5 AST, 1 STL) D’Angelo Russell (3 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 1-8 FG shooting), Dennis Schroder (5 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL), and Jared Vanderbilt (2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST) would be able to put together one collectively good performance in the first three games, yet that just didn’t happen.
Russell, Vanderbilt, and Schroder scored a combined 10 points and shot 4-17 yesterday, AD and Reaves were left hanging out to dry, and Lebron had the worst 23-7-12 Double-Double in NBA history as he was simply useless with constant 3-point misses (I know he hit 3 yesterday, but’s he shot 3-9), missed layups, and an inability to close down his opponents on defense.
He’s obviously seriously hurt and will need some kind of surgery to repair his ankle/foot, but it may have been wiser if he just sat out and allowed Darvin Ham to assemble a more mobile, agile lineup. Though, even then it’s not a guarantee playing different combinations of players would have won the Lakers a game in the opening three matchups.
Anyways, this series is all but over and I’m predicting I’ll be writing a series recap in the next review. I’m not going to start doing the “congratulations Nuggets” talk yet, but it’s coming.
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