These conference finals are losing their luster; can we please move on to the championship game already? With their 119-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, the Denver Nuggets seized a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Lakers will try to avoid the sweep Monday night when they host the Nuggets at the Crypto.com Arena. The game starts at 8:30 pm EDT.
Injury Report for Los Angeles Lakers – Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets, who finished as the best team in the Western Conference during the regular season, are ready to sweep their way into the first NBA Finals in franchise history.
The Nuggets did what top seeds should do: they took care of business. They hung around all night Saturday, and when Winning Time arrived, they pulled away and won 119-108.
The Nuggets are currently up 3-0, and I’m sure you’re aware of how many teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-0 hole. If you don’t know, the answer is zero, none, it has never happened before.
With 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, Jamal Murray was the greatest player on the court in this contest.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points, eight assists, and six rebounds despite being fouled out early. His streak of four consecutive postseason triple-doubles came to an end with this performance.
The Lakers’ amazing postseason run appears to be coming to an end. They had to win a play-in tournament just to make the playoffs, and then they had to beat the No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round and the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the second round.
And, while the Lakers have been competitive in all three games of the Western Conference finals, they have lacked the game-winning shot.
As you may know, no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, thus the Lakers’ chances of reaching the finals are small.
After Saturday’s 119-108 loss in Los Angeles, Lakers star LeBron James said it’s just a matter of taking one step at a time. “Just got to get one,” James stated. “Only one at a time.” Just concentrate on Game 4, and that’s really all you can think about.”
James had a good game on Saturday, scoring 23 points, dishing out 12 assists, and grabbing 7 rebounds, but he shot just 8 of 19 from the field and missed 4 of 6 shots in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Davis led the way with 28 points and 18 rebounds, and Austin Reaves chipped in with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. D’Angelo Russell, on the other hand, shrank with only 3 points and 4 assists in 20 minutes of action.
James (foot) is expected to play in Game 4 on Monday.
Despite re-injuring his left ankle in Game 3, James is still labeled as probable owing to right foot pain that has plagued him throughout the playoffs.
If the Lakers are to have any hope of staging a historic comeback in this series, James will need to play without restriction, barring any injuries.
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis (foot) is expected to play in Monday’s Game 4 against the Nuggets, according to Harrison Faigen of SBNation.com.
Davis is still dealing with a right foot stress issue, but he has been able to play recently and will most likely do so again Monday as the Lakers try to avoid elimination.
Over the first three games of the series, he has averaging 28.7 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.7 blocks in 41.7 minutes per game.
Mo Bamba’s name is no longer on the Lakers’ injury report, so he should be available for Game 4 on Monday.
Bamba will be available for Monday’s must-win game against the Nuggets after missing the previous nine games due to injury.
Despite appearing to be on track to play, it remains to be seen whether the big man will make the rotation, especially given his minimal play over the last month and the importance of this game. If he sees action, Bamba will most likely function as a rotational piece to complement Nikola Jokic.
