Denver on the cusp of first-place NBA Finals: Jamal Murray shines with 37-point effort in Nuggets’ 119-108 win over Lakers in Los Angeles as LeBron & Co. face hole 3 -0 with a series sweep looming
- Anthony Davis led the way for the Lakers in loss with a 28-point double-double
- Jokic finished with 24 points after dealing with a slow start and foul issues
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Star point guard Jamal Murray scored 37 points, Nikola Jokic added 24 and eight assists, and the Denver Nuggets took a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals with a 119-108 win over the Denver Nuggets. Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 12 of 17 second-half points against his former team for the top-seeded Nuggets, who have never been closer to reaching the NBA Finals in 47 years in the league.
Denver took a big lead early in Game 3 but rode a decisive 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to end the Lakers’ nine-game home win streak, which includes seven straight wins since the end of the regular season.
No team has rallied from a 3-0 playoff deficit in NBA history. Game 4 will take place Monday night in Los Angeles.
Anthony Davis had 28 points and 18 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who hadn’t lost three straight since early February.
Jamal Murray had another tremendous performance in the Conference Finals with 37 points
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with a performance of 28 but was unable to allow his team to win
Actors Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr turned in strong performances
Los Angeles’ protracted and desperate push from the trade deadline finally petered out against the mighty Nuggets, who have won five straight playoff games.
LeBron James had 23 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for Los Angeles, hitting three 3-pointers after starting the 0-for-13 series from range.
Austin Reaves added 23 points and seven rebounds, but Rui Hachimura was the only other Lakers scorer to beat the double with 13 points.
Jokic’s four-straight triple-double streak ended in a fairly quiet game for the two-time MVP.
But Murray scored 17 points in a dynamic first quarter after his 23-point fourth quarter two nights ago, and he had 30 points at halftime in Game 3.
Bruce Brown scored 15 points and hit a key 3-pointer in the stretch for the Nuggets before Jokic froze him on a 3-pointer with 3:17 remaining.
Passionate Lakers fans showed up in full force for the 17-time home champion franchise’s first Conference Finals since 2010, the year of their last title.
Los Angeles desperately tried to get back into the series, with James playing 43 minutes after spraining his left ankle in Game 2 above his already sore right foot.
Austin Reaves and LeBron James both scored 23 points for the Lakers in the Game 3 loss
But the Nuggets’ flight to the coast didn’t dampen Murray at all: After turning on the Lakers to close out Game 2, the Canadian guard made his first five shots in Game 3 and had 17 first-quarter points – even while Jokic went scoreless for the second quarter in a row.
Murray’s fourth 3-pointer of the night made it 11 of 13 from the field for 26 points midway through the second quarter, scoring more than half of Denver’s points at an incredible pace.
Reaves and Davis kept the Lakers in it, with Reaves racking up 15 points, three assists and three rebounds in the second quarter alone.
Hachimura’s 3-pointer early in the fourth gave the Lakers their first lead since the opening minutes, but the Nuggets took control in a rally highlighted by Brown’s 3-pointer with 7:02 left, after which he taunted the Lakers. bench with Los Angeles’ “Freeze” 3-point celebration.
D’Angelo Russell had another tough game for the Lakers, scoring three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes.
Russell was the Lakers’ biggest addition in their trade delay transformation, but the point guard has just 21 points in the three-game series.
