Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. We are in the conference finals!
Jamal Murray did everything in Game 3.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images.)
Denver has made this into a series. Was there any doubt?
It was going to end really badly. We’d like to point out that, for a while, Anthony Davis had NO rebounds. This was a problem all game for the Lakers. The GIANT Lakers. Denver won the rebound battle, 44-25. That seems impossible, right?
The Lakers looked lackadaiscal for most of the first three quarters. In the meantime, the Nuggets played like a desperate team. Well, more like they DID play desperately. I mean, they were down, 2-0. Was there any other way to play?
It looked like we were going to get early garbage time as the Nuggets led by 20 early in the 4th. But, boy, did that change. Denver missed shots and became careless with the ball as L.A. went on a 19-2 run in four minutes of game time. Suddenly, the deficit went from 20 to three points. Both teams then went cold for a bit.
Then Jamal Murray took over. He left Alex Caruso dancin’ a bit before hitting a three-pointer. In the next possession, he was able to find Paul Millsap underneath for a jam. And when the Lakers missed again, he buried another three from distance. Just like that, the lead was back up to 12 and time ran out for the Lakers. We now have a series.
Murray continues to evolve into a star in this bubble. He went for 28-8-12 but it was how he closed out the game that was impressive. Jerami Grant scored a playoff career-best of 26 points while Nikola Jokic had 22-10-5. LeBron James had a triple-double (30-10-11) but really did not play particularly well; his decision-making and energy weren’t great for most of the game. And Davis did score 27 points but only ended with two boards. And I said that it’s too easy to say that Denver could’ve been up, 2-1. But I will maintain that Denver IS a dangerous team and should not be counted out from making their first NBA Finals.
So Game 4 is going to be very pivotal. Not that you guys didn’t know that. But I just wanted to say it to emphasize the point.
Bullet Passes
So the Nuggets actually led at halftime after trailing at the half for 6 straight playoff games. That means the last time they led at the midway point was Game 3 against the Clippers.
Turnovers were a huge story for the Lakers in Game 2. They had 24 giveaways there while they had 16 in Game 3. Denver had 18 on Tuesday.
In other news, Billy Donovan, who coached the Oklahoma City Thunder the last 5 seasons, has accepted the Chicago Bulls coaching job. Not the most glamorous of jobs. Good luck to Donovan.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
Game 3: #1 LAL 106 vs #3 DEN 114 (LAL leads series, 2-1)
Watch This Play
I mentioned the three-pointer where Murray left Caruso. It was a great move and a very clutch three.
Shake N’ Bake pic.twitter.com/xWR8EPqZBY
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) September 23, 2020
We now switch back to the Eastern Conference. Hope everyone stays safe in the Bubble.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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