Quick hits from the Nuggets’ Game 3 victory over the Lakers on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena in the Western Conference playoffs.
1. Nuggets just stuck a dagger in the LeBron-Anthony Davis Era. Maybe no matchup in this series underscores the differences between the defending NBA champs and the Lakers right now than that of Aaron Gordon and LeBron James. While the former put up 29 points and 15 rebounds, killing L.A. on the glass, the latter seemed to check out for stretches in the second half once the Nuggs took the lead for good. Insiders think a quick postseason exit for the Lakers could hasten the exit for the 39-year-old NBA icon out of Los Angeles, breaking up the LeBron-Anthony Davis duo as anchors of this franchise. AG recorded two slams, contributing six points to a 9-0 Denver run that put the No. 2 seed up 69-61 and forced a Lakers timeout with 6:21 left in the third quarter. King James had never lost 10 straight to any NBA franchise before this series. Here’s to history, folks. Because the Lakers are very, very, very much that.
2. Bo who? Joker’s still best passer in town! Former Oregon QB Bo Nix was on the hearts and minds of Broncos Country after being tapped by Denver with the No. 12 pick in the NFL Draft, but it didn’t take long for Nikola Jokic to remind the universe that he’s still the best passer in the Mile High City. About 90 seconds into the third quarter, the Joker grabbed a defensive rebound and spotted Murray streaking like Marvin Mims Jr. past midcourt. Jokic rocked and fired a rainbow over the Lakers’ defense that hit his longtime running mate in stride, and the Blue Arrow did the rest from there, laying it up to tie the game at 55-all. Nix and Zach Wilson have their work cut out to match that dime, kids.
3. First quarter blues (again). Props to coach Michael Malone and to Nikola Jokic for not letting the first quarter of Game 3 turn into a repeat of the second stanza of Game 2. Because it could’ve. Two minutes in, Denver was 0-for-4 from floor, had already given the ball away twice, and were staring at an 8-0 deficit after three monster Lake Show dunks. At the 7:51 mark of the first quarter, the Joker had already picked up two fouls. After 12 minutes, the Lakers had 22 points in the paint. But thanks to Aaron Gordon being everywhere and Jokic’s hoops IQ, the latter didn’t pick up another foul the rest of the first half as the Nuggets hung around. And hung around. And hung around.
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