Denver was one step away from sweeping the Lakers and achieving an all-time record in the NBA

Denver nuggets we went this saturday one step away from sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals of NBA Western Conference and reach a historic milestone for the franchise. Is that the victory he achieved as a visitor for 119-108 not only allowed him to take an categorical distance of 3-0 in that key, but also left him only one victory from accessing the last instance of the Playoffs.

The Colorado team, which led its conference at the end of the regular season, will have a chance to hit that goal in Game 4 on Monday against the Lakers, who will look to become the first team to come back from such a poor result in a season. postseason. .

Denver counted in the city of Los Angeles with a Jamal Murray who was a nightmare for his rival. He reached 30 points in the first half and finished the game with 37, to finish as his team’s top scorer.

In the complementary part, meanwhile, the Nuggets had the value and the usual collaboration of Serbian Nikola Jokicwho signed a card with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Lakers came out determined to defend their home court, where they had won the previous five games in the series in which they eliminated the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

But their hopes soon collided with the inspiration of Murray, the player who condemned them to defeat Thursday in the second game played in Denver, after scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter.

The Canadian point guard didn’t lose an iota of inspiration on the trip to California and in the first quarter he already had 17 points, against 20 for the entire Lakers team. Until Murray, no player had chained 41 points in two quarters in a row in the last 25 NBA playoffs.

Against that adverse backdrop, LeBron James and Anthony Davis took the Canadian’s performance personally and took turns defending him, but Murray responded by nailing his fourth triple to the face at center.

The explosive point guard had already put up epic performances of up to 50 points in the 2020 playoffs, in which Denver lost in the West Finals against the Lakers themselves, and returned to the top level after missing all last season due to a serious injury.

From his hand, the Nuggets remained in the lead despite the unusual offensive drought of Jokic, who did not score in the first quarter and went into halftime with five points.

The Serbian center, double NBA MVP and perhaps the most dominant player in these playoffs, was unable to escape Davis’ marking and was immediately accused of personal fouls that took away time on the field.

Los Angeles’ reaction and Denver’s response

After the break, Murray was unable to keep up his frantic pace in the face of various pressures from the Lakers, who in turn found offensive weapons with which to support Davis.

LeBron, who had missed all 13 of his 3-point attempts so far in the series, woke up with two shots in a row with seconds left in the third quarter.

The locals chased the Nuggets and early in the fourth quarter they took the lead for the first time from the start, but dominance proved to be a mirage.

While the Nuggets showed their team play, only Austin Reaves (23 points) and substitute Rui Hachimura (13) supported LeBron and Davis on offense.

Back-to-back threes by Jeff Green and Bruce Brown put the Nuggets back in front and they didn’t let go again until LeBron James made his way into the locker room before the final buzzer.

For the locals, Anthony Davis again shone with 28 points and 18 rebounds, while LeBron contributed 23 and 12. After leading the Lakers’ fabulous journey since the playoffs, “King James” now faces an almost impossible mission qualify for his 11th final at the age of 38.

No comebacks have occurred in the previous 149 playoff games in which a team fell 3-0.

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