By Daniel Paiz

Somebody forgot to tell the Denver Nuggets they were supposed to lose Game 3 in Los Angeles, as the Nuggets beat the Lakers 112-15 to take a 3-0 series lead. Four Nuggets starters had 20 or more points: Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic had 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, Jamal Murray had 22 points and nine assists, and Michael Porter Jr. finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers wasted a great performance from Anthony Davis, who had 33 points and 15 rebounds; LeBron James added 26 points and nine assists, and Austin Reaves showed up with 22 points and five rebounds. After a ten-point first quarter lead, LA seemed to gradually lose their momentum until the fourth quarter, where it appeared they had mentally hit the locker room. Let’s break down the quarters.

A familiar story

A slow start for Denver due to indecisive passing and a clearly energetic LA group has the home team up 8-0 at the 10:10 mark. Two Jokic free throws makes it 14-7 at the 8:06 mark, Denver is slowly passing the ball a bit more. Jokic scoring early to cut it to 18-13. Jokic is the main source of offense in this quarter as he cuts the lead again, 29-23 LA with a minute to go: #15 has eight points. 33-23 LA after the first.

Murray hits a nice shot to open the second and make it 33-25. Murray and Aaron Gordon getting into the paint and getting points the hard way, as it’s 39-32 with 7:26 left in the second. The second unit defense is pretty solid, but their passing isn’t making the defense move enough. Christian Braun has a great cut fed by a dazzling Reggie Jackson pass to make it 43-37. Denver is chipping away at the lead slowly, as two defensive stops cuts it to 47-43. The last two minutes were quite physical, but Denver gains ground and cut it down to 53-49 LA at the half; Gordon leads Denver with 14 points, 9 rebounds.

Patience has served Denver well in the third, as they have a 69-61 lead with 6:21 to go. Gordon keeps getting scores in the paint and Denver gets stops. Gordon and Murray are feeling it as they lead 83-75 at the end of the third. The patience, defensive effort, and rebounding are paying dividends.

97-86 after a Michael Porter Jr. jumper with 6:52 to go, and Denver is picking and choosing their shots here with relative success. The patience and the intention in the second half have created this separation we’re witnessing. Porter Jr. again with a great fadeaway over Davis and it’s 101-89 with 3:47 left; Denver’s focus is mostly paying off, just have to make slightly better passes in the open court. LA seems to have lost their scoring rhythm this quarter. They can’t score here as the clock winds down, and Denver is pulling away.

A Jokic score and free throw make it 107-93 with 1:06 left. Sloppy passing lets LA feel a bit of life with five quick to make it 107-98. Who else but Gordon has Denver’s last four free throws and Denver wins 112-105, and now takes a 3-0 lead.

Difference makers

51 to 38

Denver outrebounded Los Angeles 51 to 38, thanks in part to Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic all having double digit rebounds. The inside presence for Denver is slowly deciding these games, as LA has no answer when it comes to rebounding outside of Davis. Both teams looked to push the ball after scores, which contributes to LA getting outrebounded.

22 to 17

Denver also had more free throws than LA, 22 to 17 in Game 3. The Nuggets edged out the Lakers 19 to 13 in second chance points, so that had to contribute to more trips to the charity stripe. The foul calls were pretty even when looking at the entire game, although it felt like there were times when one team would get the whistle and the other wouldn’t. The second half seemed to favor Denver, while the first half seemed like LA got more calls.

What’s also crucial when looking at team stats is the Lakers having more fast break points (25 to 14) and points in the paint (70 to 60). Both of those areas are where Denver succeeds, and yet slightly losing those categories did little to hurt Denver’s chances of winning. The starters were the X-factor in this game, and the bench for both teams didn’t play that large of a role (19-12 in LA’s favor).

The biggest takeaway from this game has to be the momentum right now. Denver looks focused and zoned in after Game 3, while the Lakers seem to be planning their offseason vacations. Game 4 could prove to still be difficult as a closeout game for Denver, but if effort isn’t changed by the yellow and purple, it might be more manageable than expected.