LOS ANGELES – Lakers on seven, what do you think?
LeBron James and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers did more than avoid playoff elimination by snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night. Their 119-108 victory in Game 4 of the NBA’s first-round playoff series gives them hope heading into Game 5 Monday in Denver.
Game 6 will take place on Thursday in Los Angeles.
Game 7 will take place Saturday in Denver.
And sorry, friends. Laker fever was sweeping Crypto.com Arena as the Nuggets, the reigning NBA champions, were expected to sweep the Lakers out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.
“Great day to be alive and stay alive,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
Could these Lakers live long enough to become the first team in NBA history to win a playoff series after going down 3-0?
As illusory as it may seem, a look back at Game 4 provides a potential blueprint.
Put the ball in the hoop – a lot
LeBron James arrived for his post-game press conference wearing a stylish white bucket hat. It was a fitting hat considering he made many stylish buckets against the Nuggets – and with great accuracy.
The Lakers shot 52.2 percent from the floor (48 for 92) and the 119 points were their second-highest output against the Nuggets in the teams’ last 12 games.
James was spectacular with 30 points on 14 of 23 shooting.
Anthony Davis was outstanding with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 23 rebounds.
But the difference was guard D’Angelo Russell. After his horrible performance in Game 3 in which he missed all seven of his shots, Russell scored 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. (In Game 3, he was 0 of 6 from 3-point range.)
Russell said: “I’m trying to prepare myself now for those moments where everyone is watching and everyone has something to say.”
Ham had something to say about Russell’s performance.
“I loved it,” the Lakers coach said, then recalled a pregame meeting. “I told him (Russell) to go crazy. Be confident, you’ve been doing this your whole life. Go crazy and be aggressive.
“He looked at me and his little nickname for me is Big Dog. He said, “I got you, Big Dog.” I got you. He shook my hand, gave me a hug and did what he did tonight.
The dreaded third quarter
The Lakers started the third quarter by missing their first three shots, and Lakers fans were surely muttering, “Here we go again.” »
For the fourth straight game, the Lakers led at halftime – this time 61-48. But in each of the previous three games, the Nuggets had outscored the Lakers in the third quarter, by a combined score of 91-60, to propel them to victory.
Russell said the Lakers made an “adjustment in the third quarter,” in part by prioritizing a good warm-up before the quarter began.
Never mind those first three missed shots at the start of the quarter. The Lakers showed an energy and focus they previously lacked in the second half.
Russell said the idea was to attack. “Don’t stand on our heels and let them attack us,” he said.
Yes, Denver outscored Los Angeles in the third quarter, 32-30. But the Lakers emerged with an 11-point lead and confidence heading into the fourth quarter.
“We talked about it,” James said of the team’s third-quarter struggles. “That’s been something that’s been an Achilles heel for us all season.”
A strong third quarter was key, James said.
“It definitely helped us going into fourth-and-4 for me, it’s just a mindset to try to close it out,” he said.
James did just that, making two decisive plays in the final minutes to help close out the victory.
What else went well?
Davis faced Nikola Jokic again. The Nuggets star center nearly had a triple-double with 33 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds. But Davis responded with 25 points and 23 rebounds. As a result, the Lakers outscored the Nuggets 46-40.
“Just dominant,” Ham said of Davis. “Dominant.”
The Lakers avoided the periods of demoralization that plagued them in recent games against the Nuggets. A bad shot leading to two more, or a turnover followed by players running rather than sprinting towards the defense.
As James noted after the game, the Lakers gave up just 12 fast break points, five second chance points and nine offensive rebounds.
“We had some great stretches against this team,” Ham said of the Nuggets. “We played some good segments. We just never really got the full game together. »
But they finally did it on Saturday.
And to make history, they just need to do it three times in a row.
