LOS ANGELES (AP) – With one championship ring and a tenacious veteran core, the Denver Nuggets are a daunting matchup for any opponent in the NBA.
They’re clearly a particular nightmare for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who are one game away from an early summer after Denver stretched its winning streak in this lopsided rivalry to a whopping 11 games.
Aaron Gordon had a playoff career-high 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and the Nuggets moved to the brink of the second round with a 112-105 victory over the Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round series yesterday.
Jamal Murray scored 22 points to help the defending NBA champion Nuggets win their seventh straight playoff meeting with James and the Lakers in dominating style. Denver has rallied from a double-digit deficit in all three games, and the Nuggets went out of their way after Game 3 to praise an opponent they’ve utterly dominated recently.
“I think every game is tougher and tougher,” Jokic said. “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. It’s really hard to close a team out.”
Michael Porter Jr added 20 points for Denver, which took control in the third-quarter and cruised through the final minutes to its fifth straight road win over Los Angeles, starting with its sweep of last season’s Western Conference finals.
“It’s fun to win games,” Porter said. “I don’t think anybody besides the media looks at the 11 (straight victories), because it’s hard. It’s not easy to beat this team. Last game, coming back from 20 points, we had to scratch and claw. So it’s not easy. But of course we like winning, and the more times we can win the better.”
Game 4 is tomorrow in Los Angeles. No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit.
Anthony Davis had 33 points and 15 rebounds, and James added 26 points and nine assists for the Lakers, who haven’t beaten the Nuggets since December 16, 2022 – and have rarely looked capable of ending that streak.
“You come out with the mindset, ‘Let’s get one, force a Game 5, and then we go from there’,” James said. “As long as you still have life, then you obviously have belief. I just think you play ’til the wheels fall off. That’s what it’s always about for me. That’s a mindset, and I know (Davis) feels the same way.”
Austin Reaves scored 22 points for Los Angeles, which surged into the postseason with largely outstanding play since the holidays, capped by an impressive play-in win over New Orleans to snatch the seventh seed.
The Lakers had won 12 of 15 heading into this series – but now they’re one loss away from failing to win a playoff round for the third time in four years since their 2020 NBA title.
