EL SEGUNDO — Even though the details in each game of the first-round playoff series between the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets differ slightly, the bigger picture feels the same.
The Lakers start strong with defensive intensity and pace in both the halfcourt and in transition, helping them get out to first-quarter leads and have an advantage at halftime. But then the Nuggets come roaring back en route to a victory.
It happened in Game 1, a 114-103 Nuggets victory last weekend in Denver in which the Lakers led by 12 points in the second quarter and three at halftime before getting outscored 32-18 in the third quarter.
Monday night’s Game 2 was more of the same, but more heartbreaking, with the Lakers up by 20 early in the third at Ball Arena before the Nuggets cut the deficit to 10 at the end of the quarter and outscored the Lakers 32-20 in the fourth after Jamal Murray’s game-winning bucket.
So when the Lakers led by 12 early in the second quarter of Thursday’s Game 3 at Crypto.com Arena, an eventual Nuggets 112-105 victory, there wasn’t any surprise when Denver cut the lead to four by halftime. Or that the Nuggets outscored the Lakers 34-22 in the third, helping them take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Nuggets have outscored the Lakers 91-60 in the third for the series and 177-135 in the second half.
“Just the same story,” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said after Friday’s practice ahead of Saturday’s potential series finale in Los Angeles. “So [Saturday] we just gotta lock in the whole game.”
So when the team reconvened ahead of a do-or-die Game 4, the priority was film: trying to figure out what needs to happen for them to flip the script on the series so Saturday doesn’t go the same way the previous three matchups have gone.
Or doesn’t have the same result as the Lakers’ previous 11 games against the Nuggets – a Denver victory.
“Guys are irritated, frustrated, fed up, ready to make a change in terms of not continuously going down this road,” Coach Darvin Ham said. “And the overall theme was just our mindset. Belabor the problems, what’s gone on up to this point or shift our focus to how do we stay alive. And looking at the film, had a really good first quarter, how can we sustain that type of performance during the duration of the game.”
Despite how the series has gone so far, and their overall struggles against the Nuggets over the last 16 months, Ham remains confident that the Lakers are equipped to turn the series around despite the fact that teams that fall behind 3-0 in a playoff series have been eliminated in all 151 of those instances.
“We have more than enough on our roster, in that locker room, to get the job done,” Ham said. “It’s just a matter of being consistent, next-play mentality and sustaining. Moving on to the next possession.
“A lot of times, we have a bad possession or something doesn’t go our way, and it spills over. And so the biggest focus was how can we stay sharp, energetic, go hard for as long as possible and stay connected as a unit, whatever five guys are on the court. And try to sustain a high level of play, good bad or indifferent.”
One thing that won’t change for Game 4 is the Lakers’ starting lineup, with Ham sticking by the first unit of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Russell and Hachimura – especially Russell – have struggled offensively in this series.
Hachimura has averaged just five points on five field goal attempts (33.3% shooting from the field and from 3-point range) after being a significant reason why the Lakers had a top-three offensive rating for the last two months of the regular season.
Russell sandwiched his 23-point, six-assist Game 2 performance in which he made seven 3-pointers between a 13-point performance on 6-for-20 shooting in Game 1 and going scoreless in Game 3 after missing all seven of his field goal attempts. Russell infamously struggled against the Nuggets in last year’s Western Conference finals, averaging 6.3 points on 32.3% shooting (13.3% from 3-point range) and being moved out of the starting lineup for that series’ Game 4.
“You want to give your players a chance to make good for themselves,” Ham said. “There were questions about that after Game 1 and you saw what we did in Game 2. He got back in the gym, as he’s always done, and worked on his stuff. Although we came up short, he was one of the reasons we were able to be in the game.
“You have to trust your players. And just believe in them. And when they see that belief, then they tend to perform at a high level.”
Ham is hopeful that Friday’s film session will prevent the Lakers’ confidence from dropping as they look to avoid being swept again by the Nuggets for the second consecutive season.
“You make it about the work,” Ham said. “You show the film. You show what went wrong, and then you show how you can make it right and what you did well against that particular team. We play some good basketball against Denver, we just haven’t been able to pull these out. Hopefully, [Saturday] will be different.”
KILLING THEM WITH KINDNESS
The Nuggets went out of their way after Game 3 to praise an opponent they’ve utterly dominated recently.
“I think every game is tougher and tougher,” two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic said. “They were up 20 in Denver, they were up 12 today in the first half, but I think it’s really hard to play against the same team over and over again. … That’s a really tough team, and every game is really interesting and tough to win. Every game we’re playing catch-up, and they’re really talented. It’s really hard to close a team out.”
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Michael Porter Jr. reiterated that the Nuggets don’t plan to take the Lakers lightly in Game 4.
“I don’t think anybody besides the media looks at the 11 (straight victories), because it’s hard,” he said. “It’s not easy to beat this team. Last game, coming back from 20 points, we had to scratch and claw. It’s not easy.”
NEVER TELL HIM THE ODDS
Count Lakers guard Gabe Vincent among those who think a 3-0 series lead can be overcome.
“Just last season, I was up 3-0 and ended up in a Game 7,” said Vincent, who played for the Miami Heat last season when they nearly blew a 3-0 lead against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. “Crazier things have happened.”
NUGGETS AT LAKERS
What: Western Conference playoffs, first round, Game 4
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/Radio: ABC (Ch. 7)/710 AM