At halftime, Pau Gasol, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Jack Nicholson, Adele and the rest of the Crypto.com Arena crowd were unsure what to think. Led quickly in a game 3 to win at home (24-10 in the first quarter), the Lakers, not aggressive enough, had nibbled away to come back to 58-55. They even seemed to have finally found a solution for Nikola Jokic, the triple-double gentleman of the play-offs (7), limited to 5 points (at 2/8) and already three faults on the counter.
The eleven points in the quarter of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (17 in all), a former home, allowed Denver to stay ahead, but the game of the Lakers, the fishing for free throws (29 obtained, 22 marked ) and that defense that had stifled Memphis and then Golden State resurfaced.
Denver inflicts LA its first loss at home in these play-offs: 119-108, the biggest gap of the series. Darvin Ham, coach of the Lakers, repeats that in the NBA, unlike the NCAA tournament, you have to be beaten four times to go home. But in the entire history of the NBA, never has a team trailing 3-0, even snatching a Game 7, managed to qualify.
2023-05-21 14:47:51
#Los #Angeles #Lakers #precipice #home #loss #Denver #Nuggets #NBA #playoffs
