Nuggets-Lakers: 5 takeaways as Jokic, Gordon step up in Recreation 3 – NBA.com

Aaron Gordon turns in a playoff profession night time and Denver finds its A-game to place L.A. on the point of elimination.
Shaun Powell
The Nuggets deflate the Lakers with a powerful staff effort, getting 20 or extra factors from 4 gamers of their Recreation 3 victory.
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LOS ANGELES — When you get swept twice in two years, what’s the terminology for that — getting vacuumed?
Such is the humbling state of affairs the Lakers discover themselves in in opposition to the Nuggets, unfathomable when you consider it. Not solely is it uncommon for a staff to be whisked away repeatedly on this method, however that is LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
But, simply as they did final yr within the Western Convention Finals, the Nuggets have the Lakers in a headlock and about to flex. After recognizing L.A. one other double-digit first-half lead — the Lakers had been additionally up 12 in Recreation 1, 20 in Recreation 2 and 10 after the first quarter of Recreation 3 — it was simply one other merciless tease.
Denver’s 112-105 victory Thursday was its eleventh straight in opposition to the Lakers (common season and postseason), giving the defending champs a 3-0 lead within the first-round series.
Listed here are 5 takeaways from Recreation 3:
1. Lakers had been gassed mentally
Right here’s how the Lakers began Recreation 3 — Anthony Davis dunk, Rui Hachimura dunk, LeBron James dunk. Feisty, aggressive and dare we are saying, indignant.
Right here’s how the Lakers ended Recreation 3 — droopy physique language, LeBron dribbling off his knee out of bounds, D’Angelo Russell lacking an open 3-pointer and listening to boos (and later refusing to hitch the timeout huddle).
Fairly merely, this staff crumbled. They couldn’t make deep pictures (5-for-27), couldn’t maintain a first-half lead and by no means gave the house crowd a purpose for hope.
You surprise how a lot of the previous performed an enormous position in what occurred Thursday, how a lot of the Lakers’ dismal latest historical past in opposition to the Nuggets stole their confidence.
Weirdly sufficient, the earlier six playoff video games had been aggressive. This one wasn’t after three quarters. So maybe the magnitude of all of it lastly weighed on L.A.
Russell went 0-for-7 and was scoreless in 24 minutes, Davis (33 factors) had three factors in the fourth quarter and the Lakers’ protection crumbled within the paint. These are indicators of being whipped.
“We form of misplaced observe of the eye to element we had within the first half,” LeBron stated.
2. Lakers tried bating Jokic into foul bother
And what? It labored. Davis drew two fast ones within the recreation’s first 5 minutes on Jokic, who had three by early within the third quarter.
But it surely didn’t work. The Lakers by no means seized benefit of the state of affairs when Jokic both (a) performed passively to keep away from extra fouls, or (b) left the sport.
Up to now, the Nuggets had been at all times susceptible every time Jokic was not on the ground, making it a sound technique by Davis to be aggressive early. However Denver didn’t fold. Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon stepped ahead. A 12-point Lakers lead early within the second quarter slowly evaporated.
And when Jokic rested for the primary three minutes of the fourth quarter, the Nuggets’ lead … grew.
“There’s a confidence that comes with being a champion,” stated Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “Each time we get down, we don’t panic, we keep collectively and discover a technique to get again into the sport. Profitable a championship has introduced that group great confidence.”
 3. Nuggets are robust when Gordon will get tough
Aaron Gordon steps up with 29 factors and 15 rebounds in Recreation 3 and the Nuggets moved to the brink of the semifinals.
The successful blueprint for the Nuggets is the pick-and-roll recreation between Murray and Jokic. That’s how they claimed a championship final season, an enormous man and frisky guard giving hell to any protection.
However there’s one other technique to win. That’s when Gordon will get concerned and gives a paint presence by catching lobs and backdoor passes from Gordon and Jokic and dunking.
He had this on repeat Thursday and fully confused the Lakers, who inexplicably left him open or didn’t field out. Gordon had playoff profession highs of 29 points and 15 rebounds. This was a bit wealthy for him within the playoffs, but when he offers something near that Denver reaches its subsequent stage.
“Aaron Gordon was simply unbelievable,” Malone stated.
4. Nuggets lastly play their A-game
That ought to ship chills to the remainder of the league. Except for the sport’s first eight minutes, the Nuggets had been dominant.
Additionally they didn’t lean closely on Jokic and Murray, with 4 gamers scoring 20 factors or extra. This was the primary “full” win of the collection for Denver, the place virtually everybody who broke a sweat managed to have a second (or two).
This was championship chemistry on show, with the Nuggets utilizing their familiarity to get open appears to be like and straightforward buckets. And their protection has been glorious within the moments of reality throughout these first three video games.
“It’s form of a telepathy we’ve obtained with this group,” Gordon stated. “We’ve obtained a mind-meld occurring with the beginning 5.”
And about Jokic, who got here one help shy of a triple-double?
“He’s a genius who occurs to play basketball,” Gordon stated.
5. Lakers one loss from an extended summer season
So right here’s the streaky state of affairs: the Lakers should win 4 straight in opposition to a staff that has crushed them 11 straight instances, together with 4 consecutive final summer season within the West Finals and three straight on this collection.
Mission unattainable, in different phrases — particularly since groups down 3-0 in a best-of-seven collection are a mixed 0-for-151.
As for which position gamers will keep and which of them will go this offseason, and whether or not that is the tip for coach Darvin Ham? That’s all irrelevant as there’s just one concern: What is going to shedding this collection, particularly if it’s a sweep, imply for LeBron’s future and mindset?
Since James signed with the Lakers in 2018, this franchise has been about championships or bust. They cashed in as soon as. As terrific as he has performed this season, LeBron turns 40 in December. Sooner or later, the Massive Decline will arrive.
He has a participant choice for subsequent season. Most definitely, he’ll decline it and settle for a two-year extension. After which there’s the elephant within the room — might the Lakers draft his son Bronny (as quickly as June?)
For somebody who discovered himself within the SoFi Play-In Match and going through a positive first-round elimination, does LeBron imagine the Lakers will ever be ok to beat prime Jokic?
The chilly reality is that it’s not LeBron’s league anymore. It belongs to the man with the horse fixation.

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Shaun Powell has lined the NBA for greater than 25 years. You’ll be able to e-mail him right here, discover his archive here and follow him on X.
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