Jamal Murray scored 37 points and former Lakers Kentavius Caldwell-Pope scored 17 points, including several key goals in the second half, when Murray finally managed to slow down a bit. The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 119–108.which moved one win away from winning the Western Conference championship.
In a 3-0 series to Denver, Game 4 will take place Monday night in Los Angeles. The Nuggets will be looking for their first ticket to the NBA Finals, and if they don’t get it, they have three more chances..
Back-to-back three-pointers from Jeff Green and Bruce Brown went 99–94 just after the Lakers took the lead midway through the fourth quarter. Since then, the Nuggets have managed to take the lead. Denver shot 41% (17 of 41) from 3-pointers. Los Angeles only did 10 out of 30.
Denver dominated the fourth quarter 35–26, and the Lakers felt very empty this time, unlike the first two games of the series.
Nikola Jokic went to the bench after committing his fourth foul with 7:24 left in the third quarter, with his team leading by 4 points. The Lakers failed to take advantage of his absence, and the period ended with the visiting team still down (84–82), but at least LeBron James hit two straight 3-pointers to end his long-range drought.
However, James (23 points, 12 assists) didn’t get much help from his squad other than Anthony Davis (28-18). D’Angelo Russell, for example, finished with 3 points (1 out of 8).
Jamal Murray beat the Lakers in the first period
The Lakers started with no shots, and the Nuggets took a 32-20 lead in the first quarter thanks to Jamal Murray’s amazing start (17 points).
Starting on the court with Davis, James, Vanderbilt, Russell and Reeves, Los Angeles was just 7 of 23 off the field in that period. One Murray had more baskets (8 out of 10).
In the second period, the Lakers got into an offensive rhythm thanks to two 3s from Lonnie Walker, but Murray continued to shoot, hitting almost three 3s in a row, even avoiding the defense of LeBron James, who tried to stop him.
The Denver star shooter finished the first half with 30 points (13 of 20) after 37 in Game 2. The Nuggets went up at intermission 58–55.. Things have improved on Darwin Ham’s team since Rui Hachimura was brought in to protect Nikola Jokic.
The match is counted as usual with numerous celebrities including Adele, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Jake Gyllenhaal and Pau Gasol, who was in the arena a few weeks ago to see 16 taken down and hung next to a Kobe Bryant jersey. Of course, Jack Nicholson is not missing either.
News in development.
Source: La Opinion
Ben Stock is an accomplished sports journalist. He currently works at 24 news breaker, where he has a reputation for providing in-depth analysis and unique perspectives on the latest sports news. He has a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of the sports industry. With a passion for storytelling, Ben’s writing takes readers closer to the action and the people behind it.