April 27 ------ Nikola Jokic compiled 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as the visiting Denver Nuggets moved one win away from the Western Conference semifinals with a 112-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Aaron Gordon added 29 points with 15 rebounds as the Nuggets grabbed a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Jamal Murray scored 22 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points and 10 rebounds to help the Nuggets extend their winning streak over the Lakers to 11 games. The run includes seven consecutive playoff victories, as Denver swept Los Angeles in last year's conference finals. The Nuggets, who are the reigning NBA champions, can move into the next round as early as Saturday in Game 4 at Los Angeles.
Anthony Davis logged 33 points and 15 rebounds and LeBron James produced 26 points and nine assists for the Lakers, who are on their first losing streak of at least three games since the start of the new year, when they were in the midst of a four-game skid. Los Angeles closed the regular season with 11 wins in the final 14 games, then beat the New Orleans Pelicans in a play-in game. Austin Reaves finished with 22 points while D'Angelo Russell did not score in 24 minutes for the Lakers, who held a lead at halftime in every game of the series, including a four-point advantage at the break on Thursday. Russell was 0 of 7 from the floor and 0 of 6 from 3-point range.
The Lakers brought some much-needed desperation early, taking a 33-23 lead through one quarter by holding the Nuggets to 39.1 percent shooting from the floor. Denver hit 44 percent from the field in the second quarter and trailed 53-49 at halftime. The Nuggets turned a 9-0 run early in the second half into a 69-61 lead and grabbed their first double-digit lead of the game at 81-69 with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Reggie Jackson. The Nuggets lost Jackson to a sprained left ankle with less than two minutes later, and he did not return.
Denver entered the fourth quarter with an 83-75 lead, and a step-back jumper from Porter put the Nuggets up 97-86 with 6:54 remaining. The Nuggets weren't threatened from there. The Lakers shot 5 of 27 (18.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Nuggets had a 51-38 rebounding advantage.
Source: gmanetwork.com
Editor's Note:
Joel Embiid set a playoff career-high with 50 points to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the New York Knicks 125-114 to cut the Eastern Conference first round series deficit. Jalen Brunon led the Knicks with 39 points and 13 assists, Josh Hart added 20 points and OG Anunoby had 17. Isaiah Hartenstein chipped in with 14. Moreover, Paolo Banchero collected 31 points and 14 rebounds to fuel the host Orlando Magic to a convincing 121-83 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Jalen Suggs scored 24 points after making 9 of 11 shots from the floor and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Franz Wagner added 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the rout.
Here are the current standing of NBA Playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Boston - 1 Miami - 1
Cleaveland - 2 Orlando - 1
Milwaukee - 1 Indiana - 1
New York - 2 Philadelphia - 1
Western Conference:
Oklahoma - 2 New Orleans - 0
Clippers - 1 Dallas - 1
Minnesota - 2 Phoenix - 0
Denver - 3 Los Angeles - 0