Nuggets 108 - 119 Lakers summary, stats, scores and highlights | NBA Playoffs Game 4
Here we go. We're finally going to give a little much need love to Anthony Davis who, as his stat line suggests, had a massive night.
LeBron put the exclamation mark on the win with the strip and slam on Jokic. He ended the night with 30, 5 and 4 assists in what could have been his final game as a Lakers if LA had lost. LeBron will have at least one more game in purple and gold, and it will be in Denver on Monday night.
The Lakers achilles heel has been the second half, specifically the third quarter, but in Game 4 they kept the Nuggets at arms distance until the finish line and finished off the wire to wire win. I'd like to apologize to Anthony Davis, neither the Lakers or ESPN are posting any of his highlights on social media, but he had a mammoth game. He had 25 points and 23 rebounds and dominated in the second half, which he hadn't done all series.
It has been bumpy to say the least for D'Angelo Russell in this series. He went 1/9 from three point range in Game 1, lit up the Nuggets for 23 points on 7/11 shooting from DT, and then was held scoreless in Game 3. On Saturday night, Russell had 21 points, hitting four threes.
Just in case you forgot, or haven't heard it in the last few hours: LeBron James is 39 years old and he's in his 21st season. He was the most impactful, energetic one on the court. He had 3 steals and this block but did much more than that on the defensive end.
LeBron and Davis have been excellent in this series, but they weren't going to have a chance in Game 4 if the other guys didn't step up. Austin Reaves went on a 7-0 run all on his own to stretch the lead to double digits. He ended the night with 21 points on 7/15 shooting.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers survived Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets to send the series back to the Mile High City while snapping a 10 game losing streak against the Nuggets. James had 30 in the elimination game, and Anthony Davis had a 20-20 double double in LA's must win game.
Just like the first three games the Lakers were all over the Nuggets in the opening minutes of the game. In this series, LA has led for more than 130 minutes while Denver had led for less than 45. James got things going for the Lakers, setting the tone on both sides of the ball.
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
The Lakers live to see another day!
Reaves to the line after the foul on KCP and he hits both FTs .
Reaves to the line after the foul on Murray and he hits both FTs.
Jokic over the top to Gordon for the alley oop slam.
Reaves with a huge jumper in the lane after sending KCP flying with a pump fake.
Jokic with the put back and gets the foul on Prince! FT is good.
LeBron slices through the defense and he lays it up off the glass.
Timeout Nuggets with 1:31 to go in the 4th quarter.
Murray to the cup and he finishes off the glass.
KCP gets the friendly roll from the corner and we have a 10 point game with under 2:00 to go.
James ripped the ball out of Jokic's hands and smashes down a dunk with two hands!
Jokic gets the bucket and the foul on AD down low. FT is good.
LeBron drops the fader from outside the lane.
Murray with a short bounce pass down low for Jokic who finishes in traffic.
Russell to the line after the foul on Jokic and he hits one of two FTs.
KCP with the steal out of the timeout and he drops it behind the back for Porter who slams it home on the break.
LeBron plants his feed and draws a charge on Porter!
Timeout Lakers with 4:39 to go in the 4th.
Jokic with a full court pass to KCP for the lay up on the break.
Gordon to the line and he hits the jumper of the pass from KCP .
Russell pulls up off the pick from the top of the key and he strokes it!
Russell with the no look lob over the top and he finds LeBron cutting baseline for the alley oop slam.
Davis follows up the Russell miss and he hits the floater to fall.
Jokic finds KCP in the corner and he drills a much needed three out of the timeout.
Russell shielding off the defender and he hits the runner off the glass from the block.
Timeout Nuggets with 7:25 to go in the 4th quarter.
Davis finds James cutting baseline for the lay up.
Murray limped of the court and grabbed his calf walking to the bench. He's back in the game after the timeout but that's something to keep an eye on.
Murray on the step back and he hits the FT line jumper for two quick buckets.
Timeout Lakers with 8:36 to go in the 4th quarter.
Murray with the lay up and that the first bucket for the Nuggets after three minutes with out scoring.
LeBron weaves down the lane and hangs it high off the glass.
LeBron to the line after the foul on Gordon and he hits both FTs.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER AND THE LAKERS ARE HOLDING ON!
Can they send this series back to Denver for a Game 5?
Murray off the dribble and he hits the FT line fadeaway.
Prince to the line after the foul on Holiday and he hits both FTs.
Jokic to the line after the foul on Davis and he hits both FTs.
Russell pulls up from the FT line and hits it over Porter.
Watson blocks AD and Jackson finds Porter on the full court bounce pass for the lay in.
Russell in the corner and he drills the triple off the feed from Prince. He's got 13 on the night.
Jokic to the line after the foul on Russell and he hits both FTs.
AD fighting on the offensive boards, and he finds Prince who drills a three from the wing!
Timeout Nuggets with 2:01 to go in the 3rd quarter.
AD to the line after the foul on Jokic and he hits one of two FTs to drop.
Jokic with a touch pass to Porter for the jam! He's an assist away from a triple double.
Vincent was left open in the corner and he drains the triple!
KCP finds Porter who double clutches for the jam down the left side of the lane.
Gordon to the line after the foul on Prince and he hits one of two FTs.
KCP picks off LeBron and takes it all the way for the steal and slam.
Timeout Lakers with 4:27 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Porter silences the crowd with another three ball, his fourth of the night.
James throws down after AD found him on the baseline cut.
Hachimura sends Porter to the line to shoot three FTs after the foul on the triple try, but Porter misses two of three.
Russell answers back with a spot up three ball from the wing!
Jokic had to jack it up from the corner with the shot clock winding down and he drills the three ball!
AD with a rebound and a long pass to Reaves who beat everyone down the court for the lay up.
Jokic comes out of the timeout and drills a three ball from the wing!
Davis is looking like a beast in the second half. He misses his lay up but chased it down, and put it back up over Jokic!
Timeout Nuggets with 6:56 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Defensive three seconds on Jokic and AD hits the FT.
Porter to the line after the foul on AD and he hits both FTs.
LeBron zips a pass under the arm of Jokic to AD who slashed down the lane and dunked it.
Porter steps into a three ball and drains it!
Hachimura from a tough angle on the turn around from the baseline and he gets the roll.
Hachimura goes into traffic down low and gets the runner to fall.
Murray from the elbow and he hits the turn around fade away.
WE ARE BACK IN LA FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION.
Reaves had a 7-0 run all on his own and ended the half with 13 points on 5/11 shooting. The Lakers are shooting 57.4% from the field. Can they keep that up in the second half? They are going to half to.
Porter Jr. had 10 points, and hit a couple threes, but the Nuggets are only shooting 23.1% from downtown.
Joker is nearly at a triple double at halftime, He's got 15, 8 and 6 assists and we are certain to see him and the Nuggets come out swinging in the third quarter.
With the Lakers against the ropes, you knew LeBron was going to show up like he has done in this entire series. He led by example, buckling down on the defensive end, crashing the boards, and obviously getting buckets. He's got 14 on 7/10 shooting.
WE ARE HEADED TO HALFTIME HERE FROM LA!!!
LA lead the Nuggets in the first half again, but can they hang on?
Davis has 17 and 11, James as 14 and Reaves has 13 for LA. Jokic leads the Nuggets with 15, 8 and 6, while Murray has 12 and Porter has 10.
Reaves missed the three ball, Hachimura got the rebound kicked it out to Reaves who took a dribble and lobbed it up to AD for the alley oop slam.
Murray to the lane after the foul on Reaves and he hits one of two FTs.
Russell finds AD streaking to the lane and he stretches to the rim for the lay up. He was slow to get up back then hustled back holding his right wrist.
Jokic bets everyone down the court, gets the bucket and the foul on Davis. FT is good.
James with another turn around fader from the baseline, this time over Gordon.
AD hits the FT out of the timeout.
James dumps it down to AD in traffic and he gets the bucket and the foul!
FTs to come out of the Lakers TO with under 3:00 to go in the first half.
Porter with a deep three ball off the kick out from Jokic and Porter was showing all kinds of range with the triple try.
Davis with a sky hook over JOkic in the lane.
Jokic back down low after the feed from Murray and he finishes under the bucket.
Russell on a tough reverse as he stretches on the baseline around Porter.
Jokic to the line after the foul on Hachimura, and he hits both FTs.
Reaves to the line after the foul on KCP and he hits both FTs. He's on a personal 7 point run and has 12 on the night.
Reaves pulls up from outside the lane and goes glass.
Reaves jacks a three ball and sinks his first triple of the night.
Holiday drills the three ball from the top of the key off the find from Jokic.
Prince backs down his defender and lays it up off the glass.
KCP off the dribble and he drills the pull up from the elbow.
Reaves drive down the lane and slips it off to Hachimura on the baseline cut for the lay up.
LeBron gets the entry pass from Davis and he spins on the block for the lay up.
Murray to the line after the foul on Vincent and he hits both FTs.
Hayes found LeBron on a back door cut and the King laid it up in traffic.
Watson fouled by Hayes on the attempted dunk, and he hits both FTs.
Murray gets the bucket to go and the foul on Dinwiddie after the drive down the lane. FT is good.
Russell drills a deep three ball from the Lakers halfcourt logo! That's a sight for sore eyes in LA.
Gordon opens his account from the elbow after dropping 29 last game.
LeBron starts the second with a turn around J on the baseline over Murray.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER.
LA lead after shooting almost 60% from the field. Davis has 8 and 7 rebounds while LeBron has 6 points. Jokic as 8, Porter has 7 and Murray has 6 after the first 12 minutes.
Jokic to the line after the foul on Dinwiddie and he hits both FTs.
LeBron tossed up an alley oop to AD, who missed the lay up on the break but LeBron followed it up for the tip in.
Dinwiddie to the line after the foul on Jackson and he hits one of two FTs.
Prince drives the baseline and banks it off the glass in traffic.
Jokic gets the pass off the pick and pop and he puts it on the deck and drops the running hook shot
Porter drills the three ball at the top of the key and the Lakers don't want to see him get hot.
Tough runner in the lane from Reaves who hit the off balanced floater.
KCP pulls up from the baseline and hits the short jumper.
AD gets the fader to fall from outside the lane coming out of the timeout.
Murray with the drive right down the land and that was much too easy in transition.
Timeout Lakers with 4:41 to go in the first quarter.
Reaves down low and he takes the contact from Jokic before hitting the short range shot.
LeBron backing down Murray to the block and he banks it the turnaround off the glass.
LeBron finds Davis down the lane and he lays it up and in.
Timeout DEN with 6:20 to go in the 1st quarter.
Jokic at the top of the key and he goes behind him back to hit Porter streaking down the lane for the lay up.
Hachimura drills the three ball from the corner off the kick out from Reaves and he is on the board. LA is going to need a lot more of that from D-Lo and Rui.
Murray going into traffic and gets it to go on the lay up.
Davis with a huge block on Porter on one end and then he dumps it off for Reaves on the lay up on the other end.
Murray missed the runner but Jokic was there for the tip in underneath.
Davis attacks the rack and lays it up off the glass from the left side of the lane.
Murray on the baseline cut and he goes double clutch on the reverse lay up! What a play from Murray.
Jokic working on the block and he gets the roll on the turn around jumper.
Russell off the dribble and he goes right to the rack for a finger roll. With that basket, he's got more points tonight then he did in Game 3.
James driving to the cup again, but this time he dumps it off for AD for the slam.
Porter strokes the mid range jumper to pick up where he left off in Game 3.
LeBron opens up the scoring with a drive and finish at the cup.
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM LA!!!
Down 0-3 Darvin Ham had some choices to make coming into tonight. D'Lo and Hachimura have been poor all series but coach is sticking with his five he's ridden into the playoffs. It's D-Lo, Reaves, Hachimura, LeBron and AD to start this do or die game tonight.
Nuggets starters
When you've got the best starting five in the league you don't mess with it in the playoffs, especially in an elimination game. No surprise Mike Malone is going with Jamal, KCP, MPJ, Jokic and Gordon. They have got off to slow starts in all three game, but have worn the Lakers down throughout the course of each game.
Who is whose daddy?
While he may have never said it, it’s a statement that rings true to this day. Mike Malone get credited with saying something in the championship celebrations that may have sat wrong with the Lakers, but it wasn’t him who said it. It was Nuggets commentator Vic Lombardi who muttered the words "He came into this world as the son of a coach, but in these playoffs, he became the Lakers daddy!” It’s hard to refute what was said. For some reason many people, like me are trapped in some sort of Mandela effect in which remember Malone saying “the Nuggets are the Lakers daddy.” While he may not have said it, it certainly has been the case over the last couple years.
Denver's depth
While Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic get most of the accolades for good reason, Game 3 reminded us that this Nuggets team is not just a two trick pony. Mike Malone has a starting five that is loaded with explosive scorers, each one able to take over a game and lead Denver in scoring on any given night. Last game it was Aaron Gordon who dropped 29 points and had 15 rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. is getting over 20 points a game and 9 rebounds per outing in this series. KCP has had a quiet series on the offensive end, but has been great defensively and he is more than capable of changing a game with his three point shooting.
Origins of a sweep
We hear it all the time, and the Lakers have been hearing it a bit often lately. The term sweep is so closely connected to the sports world that we don't even question what it means or it's origins. Our Paul Rudder has more.
Hitting a D-Lo point
It’s been a wild ride for D’Angelo Russell in this series, and really all season. After nearly getting traded in the middle of the season, the Lakers PG stayed in LA and figured to be a pivotal part of LA’s postseason run. That hasn’t exactly gone to plan in the first round of the playoffs. He went just 6/20 from the field and hit 1 of 9 threes in Game 1, but bounced back going 7/11 from downtown in a 23 point Game 2 performance. Jamal Murray broke the hearts of Lakers fans everywhere with his buzzer beater in Game 2, and to add insult to injury D-Lo got booed in Game 3 in LA after going 0/7 from the field as Denver moved to within a game of closing out the series.
Joker eyes another Lakers sweep
It’s playoff time, and that means that an already super human Nikola Jokic gets even better. It’s been quite the battle between him and Anthony Davis, and it’s hard to say who is winning the individual battle. As always, the two time MVP has no interest or time to waste comparing individual stats. He is far more interested in team success, and in that aspect he is dominating AD and the Lakers. The Serbian is averaging 28 points, 15 rebounds and almost 9 assists a game and is one win away from sweeping the Lakers for the second straight year.
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There is an all too real chance that LeBron James reign in LA is coming to an end. If the Lakers lose tonight he could walk off the floor at Crypto.com Arena for the last time as a Laker. LeBron has another year on his contract that he signed in 2022, but that won't stop him from leaving LA if that's what he wants to do. Our Joe Brennan has more.
Last of LeBron in LA?
The Lakers may be down 3-0, but it would be awfully unfair to go pointing the finger at Anthony Davis or LeBron James for LA's postseason shortcomings. They both have been brilliant in this series, with the big man averaging 32 points and 13 rebounds a game while LeBron is getting 26, 6.7 and 9.7 assists, but it hasn’t been enough to get LA a win through the first three games. Give a lot of credit to the Lakers stars. AD has stayed healthy, battled through injury and still showed up when it matters most while LeBron continues to defy Father Time. If the Lakers lose there is a good possibility that this will be the last time we see LeBron in Lakers colors.
Game 3 recap
It was the same ole’ story for the Lakers in Game 3 from LA. For the third time in the first three games LeBron and company jumped out to an early double digit lead, and went into halftime leading by two possessions, but the Nuggets went ahead just minutes into the third quarter and never looked back. Neither team shot well from three point range, the Nuggets were 17.9% from DT, and LA was 18.5% from long distance. The difference between the two teams was the Nuggets role players chipping in to help Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray while LeBron and Anthony Davis were left to do most of the heavy lifting in Game 3. Denver would got up 14 points in the 4th quarter thanks to Aaron Gordon's playoff career high 29 points and ease to victory and extend the series lead to 3-0.
We are live from the Crypt
Hello everyone and welcome to the City of Angels where the Lakers might need some divine intervention to stay alive in this series. Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets have won ten straight games over LeBron and the Lakers and have the chance to sweep LA for the second time in as many postseasons. The Lakers have very little chance of winning the series, but if they are going to go to the offseason with any dignity whatsoever, they need at least one win to avoid back to back embarrassments at the hands of the defending champions. Does LA stay alive, or will Denver take one step closer to consecutive NBA titles?
Nuggets vs. Lakers Game 4
It’s Game 4, and do-or-die time for the Los Angeles Lakers who are fighting for survival. The seven seed Lakers are trying to avoid being the first team knocked out of the playoffs, and will have to come up with a win against the Denver Nuggets, something they haven’t’ done since 2022. AS English will be with you all evening, providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s game from Crpyto.com Arena.