Denver is done with these Lakers
A look at every playoff series
Does this get back to Denver?
Nuggets lead series, 3-0
Yer Lakers emerged hot and heavy, scored the game’s first eight points, yet it wasn’t there, obvious from the outset. Major drag, nobody should accuse these Lakers of playing Denver poorly, only repeatedly. Losing every time.
That’s 11 Laker losses in a row to the Nuggets, every one a story to credibly earn its own title, I’m convinced ruddy-eyed Laker fans can reliably relay an anecdote from each defeat. A series with one side, a pairing which shouldn’t be even and isn’t, yet each game chews off your nails. The Nuggets are the defending champs but Los Angeles is not the typical No. 7/8 seed, not given the West’s stature, LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ provable preeminence.
But Davis, exhausted and worked over by a ready-for-this Nugget defense, failed to contribute for the second fourth quarter in a row. LeBron fell back (literally) on old habits with his three-point shooting, 1-6 from deep, and turned the ball over thrice (credited twice) as Denver pulled away in the second half. Los Angeles turned it over but seven times, James with a hand in four miscues.