Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 playoffs on Thursday. As we saw in games 1 and 2, Los Angeles Lakers started very well where Anthony Davis started the game very aggressively with Lebron James and in the first 12 minutes, they had an advantage with a score of 33-23. The Denver Nuggets took the lead in the second quarter of that game. Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic changed the course of the game.
Who won the Thursday Game Denver Nuggets or the Los Angeles Lakers and How?
The visiting team won the first quarter by 26-20 and both teams were excited for the halftime break. In the third quarter, the Nuggets showed their talent as the Nuggets started playing from the defensive side. They stopped the Lakers from shooting the goal and when their shots failed then the host began to put the ball in the basket. The Denver Nuggets took the lead in the second quarter and had the entire quarter to play.
The LA Lakers had this chance to make a comeback but the Nuggets took it away. Nuggets was the star of the match. Be it supporting teammates, dictating plays, or rolling the basket, he was perfect in everything. The Nuggets have their 11th consecutive meeting with the LA Lakers. This is the seventh consecutive season in the last two years for the LA Lakers against the Nuggets. The LA Lakers have not defeated the Nuggets since December 2022.
The Lakers were very close in the end due to the Nuggets’ score as the Nuggets were very slow in reaching the end. In the end, the Nuggets won the game with a score of 112-105.
Let’s see who scored how much in the game and won the game for the Nuggets-
Aaron Gordon – 29 Points and 15 Rebounds
Nikola Jokic – 24 points, 9 assists, and 15 rebounds
Jamal Murray – 22 points
Michael Porter Jr. – 20 points
Reason for Lakers loss –
The D’Angelo Russell failed to shoot against the Nuggets in the 24 minutes of play. He misfired 6 attempts of 3 points and only assisted on 2. Lebron James also slumped, shooting only 1 from 6 attempts. Where he was shooting a lot in the whole season but failed in this batch. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic also did not seem to be playing that aggressively. Austin Reaves also had only 2 shots out of 5. Joker also tried a shot and that too missed. So we can say it was hard for the LA Lakers
Points of LA Lakers players-
Anthony Davis – 33 points and 15 rebounds
James – 26 points and 9 assists
Austin Reaves – 22 points
Davis and James played very well but both of them could not help Los Angeles Lakers to win the match. The Lakers missed 15 shots out of 16 at the start of game 3 and that too 3 pointers. In which 34 minutes have been wasted. the Lakers’ fans left the ground in the final minutes, and the Lakers’ disappointed group of fans started chanting “Fire Darwin”. Darvin Ham is the coach of the Lakers. fans of the Lakers believe Darvin is responsible for this loss.
Game 4 is on Saturday night in Los Angeles. The Lakers are now just one loss away from being eliminated from the 21st NBA season. Los Angeles has not played a home game in 16 days and has won only once on their home ground since March.
Also Read: Sacramento Kings vs Phoenix Sun
Important Points to know as a Basketball lover-
NBA – National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league in North America in which 30 teams participate. NBA has achieved Men’s premiere basketball league status globally. NBA was started on June 6, 1946, in New York City as the Basketball Association of America, and the National Basketball League was added in 1949 and since then it has been called NBA. This league is typically played between October to April in which each teams plays 82 games. The top 8 teams are then selected for advanced playoff and the final match is held between them.
Denver Nuggets – The Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado, that competes in the NBA as part of the Western Conference. This team was started in 1967 as Denver Larks and later its name was changed to Denver Nuggets in 1974.
Los Angeles Lakers – Los Angeles Lakers is a Los Angeles California-based professional basketball team. This team plays for the Western Conference Pacific division. This team was formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1947 and was later relocated to Los Angeles in 1960. This team has won a total of 17 NBA championships.