Lakers Edge Out Nuggets to Take 3-1 Lead

Final Score: LAL 114 DEN 108 - Lakers Lead 3-1

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 4. The Lakers bounce back after being punched in the mouth in Game 3. The Nuggets remained resilient behind a strong performance from Jamal Murray. But, it wasn't enough as the Lakers hold on to a 114-108 victory to take a commanding 3-1 lead.

This is familiar territory for the Denver Nuggets. But, I'll get to that later in a bit. This is a great bounceback win to regain some momentum. Like I said, in the last game, the Lakers looked lethargic and showed no energy until late in the 4th. Tonight, whatever the adjustments were late in that Game 3, they carried it over and it worked for the most part.

If you followed the game, Frank Vogel made the biggest adjustment by inserting Dwight Howard in the starting lineup. Second chance opportunities proved to be the difference maker as the Lakers dominated the Nuggets 25-4 in second chance points. Dwight was at the epicenter of that, leading the Lakers in the rebounding category with 11 boards to go with 12 points. I liked his activity, especially on the offensive glass and it made Anthony Davis' lack of rebounding this game reasonable. Dwight's energy coupled by AD's hot start set the tone for the Lakers.

Speaking of AD, I've mentioned it before, he has to be big for the Lakers in this series. Last game was a mixed perfoemance totaling up points, but lacking rebounds. Tonight, it was more of the same, but with Dwight playing well in the boards, there was not a lot of pressure for AD to crash the glass. Nonetheless, I liked that he was aggressive early on in this game, scoring the Lakers first 10 points. He went a perfect 7/7 before missing his first shot at 3:28 in Q2. He went on a mini cold streak, but picked it back up getting to the line and getting the Nuggets into foul trouble. Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap getting into foul trouble was another key for the Lakers to get this win.

As sensational as Jamal Murray was this game, the Lakers remained level-headed with the veteran leadership they have. We mentioned Dwight Howard's activity early on. Playoff Rondo came alive in the 3rd quarter and finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. LeBron, I thought looked a little too passive tonight with his shot. But in the waning seconds of the game, he was in attack mode and drew the assignment on defending Jamal Murray, shutting him down in crunch time. The funny thing is, after Game 3, the Lakers sent a memo to the NBA about LeBron's lack of free throw attempts. He went to the line 7 times and shot 11/14 from the stripe.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the unsung hero of the game and arguably this entire series. Last game, he missed a wide open game-tying three and pretty much sapped all of the Lakers' momentum at a rally. Tonight, he redeemed himself with a big bucket in the 4th to give the Lakers a 103-96 lead at the 5:13 mark. As much flak as we give KCP, he's been the most consistent role player in this series. It's just in the clutch, can the Lakers trust him to take that big shot? Nonetheless, KCP finished with 13 points. He's averaging a solid 14 PPG this series.

Some concerning parts of the game: does anybody know when Danny Green is going to show up? He's been underwhelming in these series and the Lakers could use 20+ point eruption from him. Just a thought. Secondly, I'm sure we've all been paying attention to the lowkey Kyle Kuzma vs. Michael Porter Jr. matchup. As solid as Kuz has been, I have to take the blinders off at the fact that MPJ is a really bad matchup for him. You have a rookie bench player outplaying a 3rd-year bench player. Not to take away from Kuz, he was okay offensively with 10 points. But on the defensive end? Not good, especially tonight with MPJ faking him out twice.

Lastly, we gotta be concerned about AD's ankle this game. He landed awkwardly on Paul Millsap in the 2nd half and clutched his right ankle (or is it his left). He was able to finish the game strong, but definitely it is something to monitor until Saturday for Game 5.

The good news, the Lakers are up 3-1. The bad news? When the Nuggets are down 3-1 in these playoffs, they turn it up a notch and come back to win the series. Perhaps, this is the notion why the Lakers going up 3-1 is somewhat bipolar for some of us fans because Denver has the tendency to come back from these deficits, especially in the last two series. The Lakers can't get carried away because for this Nuggets team, they will fight to the bitter end. This series is far from over as long as they have a chance. For the Lakers, all they need to think about is just one more win. As Kobe would say: "job's not finished." To bring up a boxing analogy, the Lakers must go for the knockout blow and not let this go to a full 12-round judges' decision. To translate, take care of business in Game 5 and don't let this Nuggets go the distance again. I'll see you guys on Saturday for Game 5.

Lakers Fall; Nuggets Respond in Game 3

Final Score: LAL 106 DEN 114 - Lakers Lead 2-1

Welcome in to the recap of Game 3. After a heartbreaking loss in Game 2, the Denver Nuggets came back emphatically. Lakers tried to rally in the 4th. But it was too little too late as they lose 106-114.

Definitely, that 4th quarter was a tease. This game wasn't close than what the scoreboard indicated. The Nuggets dominated this game, especially in the 3rd quarter. The Laker defense changed it up to the 2-3 zone out of desperation. It worked for the most part as they forced six consecutive turnovers, capitalized on points off of them. It was a good rally, but you can tell it knocked the wind out of them running on both sides of the ball in a matter of seconds. As soon as KCP and Kuz missed those potential game-tying 3s, it sapped out a lot of energy.

I mentioned the Lakers only had two problems to deal with: Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. If the Nuggets had a third option, that's a problem for the Lakers. And tonight, Denver had a 3rd and 4th option. To go with Murray's 28 points and Jokic's 22 points, Jerami Grant stepped it up with 26 points. Monte Morris lead the bench with 14 points. 

Denver overall created a lot of problems on both ends of the floors for the Lakers. They attacked the paint early on and it easily opened up their 3-point shot. They capitalized on the points off turnovers. The last time I checked, the Nuggets racked 21 points off 12 Laker turnovers. I would say 60% of the Lakers turnovers were unforced errors. The rest was good defense from the Nuggets. Regardless, the Nuggets found that blueprint in Game 2 and made sure that it hurt the Lakers early on. They were on their A game. The Lakers, out of desperation, caught them off guard with a late 2-3 Zone defense. But, they were able to weather the storm since the Lakers tired themselves out.

As for the Lakers, I mentioned the turnovers as a negative this game. For three quarters, they looked like they were hungover from Game 2. They did jump off to an 8-2 start. Their last lead was 18-16 at the 4:22 mark of Q1. After that though, it was all Nuggets. 

Anthony Davis probably had the most mixed stat line you can ask for: 27 points, but only 2 rebounds. He got punked in the boards. I also recalled Jokic dropped him this game early on for a bucket. In other notes, he also missed all four of his 3-point attmepts. This was a hangover game from AD. After a game-winning three in Game 2, he followed with a highly questionable stat line right there.

Not only did the Lakers look hungover, they were sapped off of energy through 3 quarter of the game. I would say Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo were the most energized while everyone else went through the motions. LeBron had his typical stat line with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. 'Bron definitely picked it up down the stretch, scoring 8 of 12 points as the Lakers cut deficit to a one possession game. We wish we had a time machine to bring in 25 year old LeBron. But he's 35 now and he was gassed running on both ends of the floor during that spurt.

During that furious Lakers run, KCP and Kuz deflated it with their missed 3-point shots. 12 points for KCP, he's been playing well as of late. Kuz had 11 points, he's also solid. But as role players, if you're wide open, you gotta make your shot. That was inexcusable on both possessions where the Lakers had the potential to tie up the game. KCP had a high percentage shot and missed. That's inexcusable. Kuz hesitated and loss some of that rhythm when he reloaded and nobody was contesting him the first time. That's inexcusable. The Lakers scratched and clawed back. Denver was caught off guard. Yet, the role players wet the bed when they needed to step up.

Good effort in the 4th, but it shouldn't have come to that if they weren't outplayed for three quarters of the game. With this loss, Denver just regained some of their swagger back. I said it in the last game, you don't want to give this team any signs of life. This is officially a series and they were able to quickly forget the heartbreaking loss in Game 2. The Lakers now gotta respond with more urgency for Game 4 as the pressure is now on them. I'll see you guys later.

Lakers Drop Pivotal Game vs. Nuggets

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*

Brook Lopez lead the Lakers with another 20+ point performance with 29 points, but the Lakers couldn't hold off the hot shooting of the Nuggets, losing 116-125. Julius Randle added 18 points and Kyle Kuzma chipped in 14 points to add to the starting front court. Meanwhile in the backcourt, KCP racked up a near double-double with 17 points and 9 rebounds and Lonzo Ball recorded a near triple-double of 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists to go with 4 steals. I.T. lead the 2nd unit with 10 points and 4 assists.

Final Score: @ Denver 116-125 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180309/LALDEN#/recap

Next Game: vs. Cleveland (03/11) <-- b="">*Will provide Open Thread, but likely just take over in the 2nd half and Full Recap posts*

Highlights: *Courtesy of MLG Highlights*

The Lakers really do miss Ingram and Hart to close games out. I'm gonna make this commentary as quick as possible since I'm going to be busy all day long. This is a game that the Lakers need to get to stay in that hunt for #8 seed, which the Clippers are holding onto now. But, Denver knew what was at hand fumbling that 8th seed away and this was a must-win for them. Heading into this game, the Nuggets' 3-point shooting would be a problem for the Lakers. Right out of the gate, they were on target from deep. Lakers scratched and clawed back in and lead, but they fizzled out momentum-wise. It didn't help that they looked really pedestrian in the closing moments of the 4th quarter. In the end, the Nuggets with Millsap, Jokic, Murray, Barton, and Harris sealed this game away with some key plays on both ends of the floor to deny the Lakers a late rally. Let's talk about Jamal Murray for a bit. I totally forgot about this, but in the Lakers and Nuggets first meeting, Denver won by a big margin and Murray dribbled the ball around Lonzo in the final seconds. Randle and the others took offense to that. This game, he got Luke and KCP heated. Both games, Murray played well and backed up the showboating. Somewhere in the locker room, Jamal Murray's picture should be bulletin-board material for Tuesday's match against this Nuggets team. This thing is not over yet. But first things first, the Lakers have to regroup against the Cavs on Sunday. Clarkson and Nance returning to Staples Center since the trade. I.T. going up against LeBron after the drama this season prior to the trade, it's gonna be some night and it's going be another big game for the Lakers' aspiring playoff hopes. I could miss the first half since I have somewhere to be. But, I'll make it time to provide coverage for the 2nd half and the full recap. Both threads will be open though. I'll see you guys for that game.

Lakers Collapse Down the Stretch vs. Nuggets

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com and Yahoo Sports*

Brandon Ingram lead all Lakers in scoring with 20 points, but the Lakers went into full meltdown mode in the 4th quarter, falling to the Nuggets 100-115. Brook Lopez had a bounce back game with 15 points after being held scoreless in the last few games. Julius Randle lead the 2nd unit in scoring with 15 points and Jordan Clarkson added 12 points. Kyle Kuzma returned after missing the Warriors game and notched 13 points and 10 rebounds in his return.

Final Score: @ Denver 100-115 [L]

Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20171202/LALDEN#/recap

Highlights: *courtesy of Ximo Pierto*

Add two more things that are certain in life: the Lakers blowing opportunities in close out situations and notching a road win besides Phoenix. If you look at the last three games, the one thing they have in common is that the Lakers were riding a lead, but they couldn't close it out. This game last night  turned out to be a nightmarish collapse down the stretch. So many silly turnovers were committed in that 4th quarter. Most of them were unforced errors or the Lakers trying to make the home run play. Lonzo Ball put too much air on a full court pass out of Brandon Ingram's reach. Julius Randle puts the ball over Ingram's hands in a lob attempt. A pass slips out Kuzma's (or Clarkson's) hands. Offensive fouls. Too many steps. The loss was more of the Lakers shooting themselves in the foot once again rather than Jamal Murray going off for 28 points or Will Barton coming alive in the 4th quarter despite a poor start shooting the ball. The Lakers are a young team no question and the mistakes will be made. But, Luke Walton's gotta put a point of emphasis on this team about closing out and a rehash of basic basketball fundamentals. The worse part is that the Nuggets were missing Nikola Jokic, Wilson Chandler, and Paul Millsap this game. Think about it, Lakers couldn't capitalize on Blake Griffin leaving the game on Monday against the Clippers. They couldn't capitalize on Steph Curry's shooting woes on Wednesday against the Warriors. And last night, they couldn't capitalize on a short-handed Nuggets roster. This team has to learn how to close out. Period. Some positives of the game though: Kuzma notched a double-double in his return. The Lakers dominated the Nuggets in offensive rebounding and 2nd chance opportunities. Josh Hart, 9 points on three 3-pointers, those threes helped build a lead the Lakers fumbled away down the stretch. But, turnovers and failing to protect leads, this young Lakers team has to start learning or this formula's gonna continue, which will lead to more gut-wrenching losses like this and the last two games against the Clippers and the Warriors.

*Lakers-Rockets Quick Fact Check and Commentary Will Be Available Tomorrow Night*