Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets takes a shot against Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers during game three of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 25, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images via AFP
The Denver Nuggets rallied to push LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs on Thursday.
The defending champion Nuggets erased a 10-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Lakers 112-105 in Los Angeles.
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Aaron Gordon scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic added 24 points, another 15 boards and nine assists for the Nuggets, who took a 3-0 stranglehold on the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series.
No NBA team has rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.
“We’ve got to figure out how to get one (win) on Saturday to stay alive,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
But the Nuggets have now won 11 straight games against the Lakers, including their sweep in last season’s Western Conference finals.
“I don’t think it is necessarily about our opponent,” Gordon said. “I think it’s about what we do and who we have as our guys in our locker room.
“We just focus on being great each and every night and let the results take care of itself.”
Down by four at halftime, the Nuggets pulled away relentlessly in the third quarter and were never really challenged in the fourth.
“It’s a make or miss league,” Ham said. “When you can’t get a bucket, they’re scoring, they’re on a run, it’s tough.”
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Anthony Davis scored 33 points and pulled down 15 rebounds and James scored 26 points with six rebounds and nine assists.
But D’Angelo Russell went scoreless, missing all seven of his shot attempts, and Davis had just three points in the final period.
Jamal Murray, who made the buzzer-beating game-winner in the Nuggets’ crushing 101-99 victory on Monday, added 22 points and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr. chipped in 20 points and 10 rebounds for Denver.