Aaron Gordon blocks LeBron James’ final shot as Nuggets win series
Aaron Gordon blocked LeBron James’ driving shot at the buzzer to seal the Nuggets’ four-game sweep in the Western Conference finals.
After leading by 15 points at halftime, the Lakers lost 113-111 at Crypto.com Arena.
James scored 40 points, including 31 in the first half, with 10 rebounds and nine assists. Anthony Davis had 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Aaron Gordon had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. Nikola Jokic had his eighth triple-double of the playoffs, the most in NBA history, with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.
It’s the Nuggets’ first playoff sweep and the ninth time the Lakers have been swept in a best-of-seven series. It will be Denver’s first trip the NBA Finals since joining the league in 1976.
Lakers trail by two with final possession
After the timeout, LeBron James’ turnaround baseline jumper went off the side of the backboard, but the Lakers got the necessary defensive stop to keep their season alive.
James rebounded a miss from Jamal Murray and the Lakers called a timeout down 113-111 with four seconds remaining.
Jokic puts Nuggets back in front
Nikola Jokic bullied his way into the lane and finished a difficult shot in the paint to give the Nuggets a 113-11 lead with 31.3 seconds remaining. The Lakers called a timeout.
Jokic has 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.
LeBron James has 40 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Anthony Davis ties score with two free throws
Anthony Davis tied the score 111-111 with two free throws with 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter.
He has 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Lakers within two down the stretch
Two free throws from Anthony Davis got the Lakers to within 111-109 with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Davis has 19 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. He helped force a shot-clock violation on the other end.
Jokic hits another circus shot
Nikola Jokic made a one-footed, fadeaway three-pointer over Anthony Davis to stretch the Nuggets’ lead back to six points. He also hit an improbable shot-clock-beating three in the first half.
Just when the circus shot seemed like it would be enough to knock the wind out of the Lakers for good, Austin Reaves responded with a three of his own. The Lakers aren’t quitting.
They’re down 110-107 with 2:01 to go in the fourth quarter.
Nuggets on 6-0 run
The Nuggets have scored six consecutive points to take a 108-102 lead with 3:34 remaining.
After Anthony Davis tied the game with an emphatic dunk that had Lakers fans on their feet, he fouled Jamal Murray on a three-pointer after a Denver timeout. Murray hit all three free throws to inch the Nuggets back in front. The Lakers missed consecutive three-pointers from Dennis Schroder and Rui Hachimura and the Nuggets stretched their lead with a dunk from Aaron Gordon, who missed the free throw on the potential three-point play.
LeBron James draws back-to-back charges on Jokic as Lakers are tied again
LeBron James hasn’t kept up his scoring momentum in the second half, but he just delivered two key plays on defense that helped the Lakers tie it up with 5:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.
James drew charges on Nikola Jokic on back-to-back Denver possessions. Anthony Davis tied the score 102-102 with a rebound dunk that forced Denver to call a timeout.
Jokic has five fouls, 25 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists.
James has 38 points (seven in the second half), eight rebounds and nine assists. Davis has 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Anthony Davis back on the court as Lakers try to save season
Tristan Thompson got the Lakers off to an inspired start in the fourth quarter and he exited to loud cheers from the crowd. Now it’s Anthony Davis’ turn to help the Lakers save their season.
Davis has 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers trail 100-98 with 7:19 remaining in the fourth. He has scored four points in the second half, including his first shot after re-entering the game in the fourth. He also has three blocked shots.
LeBron James has 38 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Nikola Jokic has 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. Jamal Murray has been relatively quiet with 22 points. He has missed all four of his three-point attempts.
Tristan Thompson (yes, really) provides fourth-quarter lift as Lakers tie score
No matter how this game ends, Lakers fans can at least hang on to the image of Tristan Thompson dunking on Bruce Brown and blocking Michael Porter Jr.’s layup in the fourth quarter.
Thompson even jawed a little bit to Porter when running back down the court.
With Thompson’s energy to start the fourth quarter, the Lakers have scored five unanswered points to tie the score 94-94 with 10:05 remaining.
D’Angelo Russell made a pull-up jumper to tie it. He has four points after losing his starting job.
Lakers trail going into fourth quarter
The Nuggets dominated the third quarter to erase a 15-point halftime deficit and take a 94-89 lead going into the fourth.
After scoring 31 points in the first half, LeBron James didn’t score his first points of the second half until the 2:47 mark of the third quarter. He scored the last six Lakers points in the quarter, but it was no match for the balanced Nuggets, who responded with key shots from Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray.
Jokic has his eighth triple-double of these playoffs with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. He passed Wilt Chamberlain for the most in a single postseason.
Gordon made two three-pointers in the third quarter and has 19 points with six rebounds and five assists. Murray has 20 points.
James has 37 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Superstar running mate Anthony Davis has just 11 points with 11 rebounds.
Nuggets take lead in third quarter
The Nuggets erased a 15-point halftime deficit and now lead 83-81 with 4:39 remaining in the third.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished a three-point play as the Nuggets have outscored the Lakers 25-8 in the third quarter.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James are scoreless in the second half. Davis is stuck on nine points with 11 rebounds. James has 31 points. Austin Reaves is the Lakers’ second-leading scorer with 14 points.
Caldwell-Pope has 13 points. Nikola Jokic has another triple-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
LeBron James, Lakers waiting for help from role players
According to LeBron James, Jamal Murray’s 37-point performance in Game 3 wasn’t the difference for the Nuggets. It was the way the Nuggets role players stepped up, especially late, James said Saturday night.
With James scoring 31 points in the first half, the Lakers are going to need their supporting cast to take a page out of the Nuggets’ book.
James is scoreless so far in the second half as the Lakers are clinging to an 81-80 lead with 5:03 remaining. The Nuggets cut the lead to one before Austin Reaves sank a fadeaway, mid-range jumper that injected some life in a Lakers crowd that was getting very nervous.
Reaves has 12 points on four-for-eight shooting. He is the Lakers’ second-leading scorer.
Meanwhile, Nikole Jokic and Jamal Murray both have 20 points and all five of the Nuggets’ starters have scored in double figures.
Nuggets cut the Lakers’ lead in half
The Nuggets are on a 7-0 run early in the third quarter as the Lakers called a timeout while leading 75-67 with 9:14 remaining in the period.
Nikola Jokic blocked Anthony Davis’ shot and led a transition opportunity that went to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a three-point shot in the corner. Caldwell-Pope’s three was off, but Aaron Gordon made an athletic offensive rebound to tip the ball to Jokic for an easy second-chance layup.
Jokic has 14 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Jamal Murray has 18 points.
Davis has nine points and 10 rebounds.
How much will the Lakers need from LeBron James in second half?
LeBron James got some much-needed rest at halftime after playing 23 minutes 56 seconds of the first half. With the season on the line, will James have to play the entire second half to keep the Lakers alive?
James had his highest-scoring half of his playoff career with 31 points to help the Lakers to a 73-58 lead at halftime.
The Lakers built their lead behind James’ dominance and by controlling the free-throw line, where they’re 16 for 17 compared to six for six by the Nuggets. The Lakers also have just two turnovers to 14 assists.
LeBron James leads Lakers to big halftime lead
LeBron James one-upped Jamal Murray’s 30-point first half from Game 3 with a 31-point half in Game 4.
With James leading the way, the Lakers have built a 73-58 advantage at the the break.
James played all but 4.3 seconds of the first half, pulling down four rebounds and dishing out four assists to go with his highest scoring total of these playoffs. He was 11 for 13 from the field and four for four from three-point range.
Rui Hachimura is the Lakers’ second-leading scorer with 10 points. Anthony Davis is flirting with a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Nuggets have four double-digit scorers, led by 15 points from Murray.
Nikola Jokic, who has 10 points and eight assists, picked up two fouls in the final minute of the second quarter and has three going into halftime.
Denver coach Michael Malone was given a technical with 32.2 seconds remaining in the first half for arguing a foul call on Jokic.
It’s all LeBron early
He hasn’t missed a three-pointer and just soared into the lane for a put-back basket. Everything is working for LeBron James tonight.
The Lakers star has 27 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals as the Lakers lead 55-43 with 5:18 remaining in the second quarter. It’s their biggest lead in the series.
James is 10 for 12 from the field and four for four from three-point range. He has played every minute of the first half.
James’ shooting is apparently contagious as Dennis Schroder has made all three of his three-point attempts and has nine points.
Jamal Murray leads the Nuggets with 11 points.
Aaron Gordon, LeBron James earn technical fouls
Aaron Gordon and LeBron James got tangled while battling for position under the basket and their confrontation continued after the whistle, resulting in offsetting technical fouls with 8:34 remaining in the second quarter.
The Lakers lead 43-36 after Nikola Jokic ended a 7-0 Lakers run with an improbable three-point basket as the shot clock was winding down.
Lakers open 10-point lead in second quarter
Yes, you saw that right: LeBron James found Tristan Thompson for a dunk in an NBA playoff game in the year 2023.
The Lakers are ahead 43-33 with 9:16 remaining in the second quarter behind an inspired start from James. He has 23 points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals. James has yet to come out of the game.
Anthony Davis started the second quarter on the bench and has four points with eight rebounds.
Tristan Thompson starts second quarter for Lakers
Darvin Ham is pulling out all the stops in this elimination game.
The Lakers coach put Tristan Thompson on the court for his first non-garbage-time minutes in this postseason. The Lakers started the second quarter with D’Angelo Russell, Lonnie Walker IV, Austin Reaves and LeBron James on the floor with Thompson.
Thompson soon found himself in an unfortunate matchup against Jamal Murray, who crossed him over for a mid-range jumper.
The Lakers lead 39-33 with 10:16 remaining in the second quarter after a three-point play by Reaves.
LeBron James dominates for Lakers in first quarter
There was no way LeBron James would go down easily in this series.
James scored 17 of the Lakers’ last 19 points in the first quarter as they lead 34-28 going into the second.
Behind four-for-four shooting from three-point range, James has a game-high 21 points. He is seven for nine from the field.
Despite James’ personal brilliance, the Nuggets went on a 7-0 run, but James ended it with a physical three-point play.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leads the Nuggets with 10 points. Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray both have six points.
LeBron James finds three-point shot in unexpected way
LeBron James’ three-point shooting has been a target of criticism this series, but he’s off to a two-for-two start from distance tonight.
The Lakers are ahead 23-30 with 3:08 remaining in the first quarter.
James has a game-high 12 points and got some momentum on an unorthodox three-pointer that came on a bad lob attempt to Rui Hachimura. James tried to throw an alley-oop to Hachimura but the ball just rattled right into the basket. While Hachimura shrugged, James signaled with his right hand to count the bucket anyway.
James made a three-pointer two possessions later and has scored the last eight points for the Lakers.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is carrying the Denver offense with three threes on four tries for 10 points. Nikola Jokic has six assists.
Can the Lakers make NBA history?
During the first timeout, the Lakers showed a highlight reel of professional teams that have climbed back from a 3-0 playoff deficit to win a best-of-seven series. The Boston Red Sox and L.A. Kings were featured and a quote from LeBron James finished the montage, saying, the Lakers “just have to take it one game at a time.”
No NBA team has completed the feat. Teams trailing 3-0 in a best-of-seven series in the NBA are 0-149.
Back on the court, the Nuggets got two consecutive three-pointers from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was fouled by Austin Reaves on the second shot. Caldwell-Pope completed the four-point play and the Nuggets tied the score 13-13 on a tip-in from Aaron Gordon with 6:46 to go in the first.
New starters making quick impact for Lakers
Dennis Schroder and Rui Hachimura are making the most out of their starting roles.
Schroder stole the ball from Jamal Murray and started a fast break that led to an Austin Reaves layup that put the Lakers ahead 11-4 with 8:32 remaining in the first quarter. The Nuggets called a timeout.
Schroder has three points and the steal. Hachimura has two points off an early drive and dunk.
All five of the Lakers’ starters have scored.
Aaron Gordon and Murray both have two points. Michael Porter Jr. has two rebounds and a block.
Can the Lakers keep their season alive?
Hello again, this is Thuc Nhi Nguyen. I’ll be driving our Lakers live blog tonight from the rafters of Crypto.com Arena. My colleagues Dan Woike, Brad Turner, Bill Plaschke, Helene Elliott and Andrew Grief have the court surrounded from court-level and the concourse.
We know what’s at stake tonight. The Lakers are down 3-0 in the Western Conference finals and need a win to keep their season alive and avoid a sweep.
D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt out of Lakers starting lineup for Game 4
In need of a win to keep the Lakers’ season alive, coach Darvin Ham will bring D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt off the bench in Game 4 tonight against the Denver Nuggets.
Rui Hachimura and Dennis Schroder will jump into the starting lineup with LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis. That five-man lineup has been the Lakers’ most effective group in this series.
Hachimura is averaging 17 points off the bench in the Western Conference finals.
The scoring punch has been a necessary lift as Russell has struggled. The Lakers are minus-53 in the series when Russell is on the court. He was one for eight from the field in Game 3, scoring three points.
“It’s just [he] can’t have a conscience,” Ham said of his message to the slumping Russell. “He has to go out there and perform like he’s always performed and be aggressive, and the shots he knows he can make, he has to take and just be assertive and decisive with the ball in his hands.”
The Nuggets are rolling out their normal starters: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon.
Some Lakers role players struggle to get on a roll in Game 3 loss to Nuggets
As Rui Hachimura stood at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, a chant rang out from the fans inside Crypto.com Arena:
“Ru-i! Ru-i! Ru-i! Ru-i!”
When he made the second of his two free throws, Hachimura had given the Lakers a one-point lead over the resilient Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers knew they needed their role players to play at a high level, and there were times when Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt and Dennis Schroder did Saturday in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. And there were times when role players like D’Angelo Russell were unable to provide the Lakers much.
So, even with Reaves scoring 23 points on seven-for-10 shooting and three for five on three-pointers, and adding seven rebounds and five assists in his starting role, it wasn’t enough to help the Lakers in their 119-108 loss to the Nuggets.
Even with Hachimura scoring nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and collecting six rebounds, it wasn’t enough to stop the Lakers from going down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Lakers appear beyond saving, especially by LeBron James
Another three-pointer. Another miss.
LeBron James remained frozen on the three-point line, as if he were in disbelief.
His right arm was extended. His wrist was bent.
A couple of minutes later in the fourth quarter, James failed to finish at the rim after he was fouled.
James threw back his head.
His body language told the story of the game.
There would be no miracle for James or the Lakers on Saturday night.
Nuggets again show the Lakers they know the business of winning
While the Lakers were remaking themselves at the trade deadline and battling back from a clueless 2-10 start that dropped them into the depths of the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets were quietly and consistently taking care of the business of earning the No. 1 playoff seed.
While the Lakers were learning each other’s tendencies, while they evolved from a group of players thrown together on short notice and became a multifaceted team that could count on role players to step up and support LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Nuggets were refining a core that was unflappable, versatile and efficient. And good.
The heralded New Orleans Pelicans faded. The Phoenix Suns flamed brightly for a while and then burned out. The Golden State Warriors couldn’t win on the road. The Clippers were, well, the Clippers, undercut by injuries despite load-managing themselves into a pretzel. The Lakers, reborn after the trade deadline, won a play-in game, eliminated the immature Memphis Grizzlies, and took out a surprisingly ragged Warriors team that never really found its stride.
Through it all, the Nuggets stayed above the chaos below them. They’ve shown that same confidence against the Lakers, making plays and runs that have quieted the chaos within the first three games of the West finals while taking a 3-0 stranglehold in the best-of-seven series.
Faced with a one-point deficit with 7 minutes 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter Saturday, the Nuggets launched a 13-0 run that led them to a 119-108 victory and sent fans at Crypto.com Arena streaming toward the exits before the final horn mournfully sounded. “It’s a one-game series for us,” James said, and that one game is scheduled for Monday.
Lakers’ focus narrows to one win at a time over Nuggets
The Lakers gathered Sunday to watch film with the idea that they could solve this puzzle in the Western Conference finals that is Denver. They remain confident that this group can overcome the long odds that no team in NBA history has beaten when facing such dire circumstances.
The Lakers trail 3-0 in the best-of-seven series that the Nuggets have controlled because of their better play during all the key moments.
No team in the NBA has dug out of that playoff hole, the teams on the wrong end of that having gone 0-149.
“You’ve just got to take it one game at a time,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “Obviously, you see the numbers and, like you said, it’s never been done. You think about just winning four games in a row, I’m sure there’s a lot of guys in this gym that have won four games in a row. Maybe not against the same team, over and over again, but if we put our best foot forward every day, every game, you know, we’ll have a chance.”
The Lakers heard the chatter after they lost Game 3 on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena and again Sunday at practice. They will hear it again before Game 4 at home Monday night.
“We’re alive, man. The series is not over,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said after practice. “People want to throw out the odds. Yeah, don’t get me wrong. We’re facing a hell of a ballclub, one talented bunch that’s very well coached. But we have things that we can do as well.”