LOS ANGELES — The LA Lakers, a team loaded with stars and expectations, are one loss away from exiting the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs.
Aaron Gordon emerged out of his supporting cast role and played like a star to lead the defending champions Denver Nuggets to a decisive 112-105 Game 3 victory on Thursday night at the Crypto.com Arena.
Gordon registered a playoff career-high 29 points and 15 rebounds. But he wasn’t the only problem for the Lakers, who have lost 11 straight to Denver and dropped to 0-3 in their best-of-seven series.
Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists while Jamal Murray, who engineered Denver’s come-from-behind Game 2 win with a buzzer-beater, finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 9 dimes.
As if the combo of Gordon-Jokic-Murray wasn’t enough, Michael Porter Jr. added to the Lakers’ woes by drilling 20 points as the Nuggets hit 44 of 90 shots to make up for a poor 5-of-28 clip from 3.
Standing on the verge of making the second round the Nuggets gave LA credit for putting up a good fight.
“They were up 20 in Denver, they were up 12 today in the first half, but I think it’s really hard to play against the same team over and over again.That’s a really tough team, and every game is really interesting and tough to win. Every game we’re playing catch-up, and they’re really talented, Jokic said.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 33 points and 15 rebounds while LeBron James added 25 points and 9 assists. But the support cast did little andD’Angelo Russell struggled mightily, shooting 0-for-7 from the field in a scoreless shooting effort.
Game 4 is Saturday night in Los Angeles, and while no NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit, the Lakers remain defiant.
“You come out with the mindset, ‘Let’s get one, force a Game 5, and then we go from there,’” James said.
