LOS ANGELES — When it’s all said and done, the Lakers’ domination of the Nuggets will probably be much ado about nothing.
But Saturday night, it was really something.
Leading from start to finish and playing with a fire the Nuggets lacked, Los Angeles, with its season on the brink, rolled to a 119-108 Game 4 victory at rocking Crypto.com Arena.
The Nuggets lead the first-round series 3-1 as they head back for Monday night’s Game 5 at Ball Arena, knowing that no NBA team has ever rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game playoff series. Still, Denver will carry the weight of the memory that the Lakers led at halftime in all four games of this series thus far.
The Lakers entered Saturday’s game having lost 11 consecutive games to the Nuggets. They were also swept in four games in last year’s Western Conference Finals. But with a dominating inside game and a balanced attack, L.A. led by as many as 19 in the fourth quarter. The night’s most-telling statistic: The Lakers outscored the Nuggets 72-52 in the paint.
Before the game, Denver coach Michael Malone said the Nuggets couldn’t afford to shoot poorly and get pounded in the paint if they wanted to win. Turns out he was completely right.
Center Anthony Davis scored 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting, and hauled in a game-high 23 rebounds. He’s been the Lakers’ most dominant player this series. LeBron James scored 30 on 14-of-23 shooting, but a lot of his points came with the game in hand for L.A.
Michael Porter Jr.’s long-range shooting (25 points, including 4-of-9 from downtown) and Nikola Jokic’s triple-double (33 points, 14 rebounds, 14 assists) kept Denver within range to stage a rally like it did in Game 2. But the Lakers never let up and the Nuggets never made a serious second-half run.
Guard Jamal Murray, the hero of Denver’s Game 2 victory when he hit a buzzer-beater jumper, struggled shooting again. He scored 22 points but shot just 9 of 23 from the floor, including 0 for 4 on 3-pointers.
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The Nuggets followed a familiar, tired script in the first quarter as the Lakers took a 28-23 lead. With their season on the brink, Los Angeles played like the Energizer Bunny, while the Nuggets looked like a Buick needing a jump start.
L.A. scored 24 points in the paint in the first quarter, outshooting, outmuscling and outhustling Denver.
The trend continued in the second quarter, and the Lakers took a 61-48 lead into the locker room, having outscored Denver 42-24 in the paint. The final sequence of the half illustrated L.A.’s dominance. Davis soared in for an alley-oop dunk with a beautiful assist from Austin Reaves. Next, on the other end of the court, James stuffed Nikola Jokic’s layup. Jokic’s frustration was evident, and the Lakers fans were delirious.
The series winner will likely face Minnesota in the second round. The Timberwolves lead Phoenix 3-0 and have a chance to sweep the series on Sunday.
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