By Darnell "Playmaker" Sallins
The Denver Nuggets took Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals in Crypto.com Arena Saturday night. In do so, the Nuggets take a 3-0 series lead and put the Los Angeles Lakers in the position of being swept Monday night for Game 4. An unfamiliar position for the Lakers to be in and more unfamiliar for LeBron James.
Game 3 started how Game 2 ended.... Jamal Murray. Murray came out Saturday night scoring 30 points in the first half where the Nuggets built a 14-point lead before the Lakers cut it to three going into the half. Unfortunately, the Lakers couldn't get control of the game as the they could only lead by two points at the most.
The Nuggets had an answer for every punch the Lakers threw and then The Joker took over in the fourth quarter. Nikola Jokic, who struggled in the first three quarters put the game in his hands. Jokic scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets left Saturday night with a 119-108 win.
The role players of the Nuggets outplayed the role players of the Lakers. Murray and Jokic combined for 61 of the 119 points meaning the other combined for 58 points led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 17 points. Michael Porter Jr. had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds with 6 assists.
For the Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 51 of the 108 points. The others combined for 57 points but 23 of them came from Austin Reaves and the rest had just 34 points. Davis had 28 points and 18 rebounds and LeBron James had 23 points with 7 rebounds and 12 assists, but the Lakers was on the wrong end.
Even the stats don't show a huge advantage in favor of the Nuggets, it's the plays that don't show up in the stats that's the difference. Porter Jr. with 10 rebounds but how many of them was being more hungrier for them than the Lakers? Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown forcing turnovers as the Lakers had twice as many turnovers as the Nuggets. The Nuggets being faster to loose balls than the Lakers making those 50/50 plays.
Now, the Lakers face the possibility of a sweep come Monday night which be the 11th time in franchise history that this historic franchise would have been swept if the Nuggets win Game 4. The last time the Lakers was swept in the playoffs was 10 years ago. Back in 2013 in the first round of the playoffs the Lakers were swept by the San Antoino Spurs led by The Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili with a young Kawhi Leonard appearing on the scene.
At that time, LeBron James was in Miami with a Big Three of his own with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh as they were running the East. The Heat would win their second consecutive championship as they beat the Spurs in seven games. LeBron James won his second consecutive Finals MVP trophy.
Speaking of James, this is the first time that he has faced a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs outside of the NBA Finals. In his illustrious career, James has been swept twice with both coming in the NBA Finals. The first coming in 2007 to the Spurs and the second coming in 2018 to the Golden State Warriors.
For LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a position where they are not use, but how will they respond Monday night knowing this? The Nuggets have beaten the Lakers at every turn even when the Lakers make a run, the Nuggets respond in kind and more effective.