LOS ANGELES — With the Lakers defense scrambling in the middle of the fourth quarter in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, Bruce Brown caught a swinging pass from Michael Porter Jr. into the right corner and attempted an uncontested three-pointer.
As he turned to run back, Brown hit the “freeze” celebration—a gesture that united the Lakers locker room during their improbable second-half rally—towards the Los Angeles bench.
The contraction sequence indicates how this Western Conference Finals series plays out: Denver goes one step ahead, Los Angeles desperately tries to solve an unsolvable problem, and in the end, the Nuggets shoot at what appears to be just the right time.
“That was the game,” LeBron James said of the Browns’ basket.
This was also the series – and the Lakers’ 2022-23 season.
Game Four Monday. pic.twitter.com/LtQPkzigh4
– Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 21, 2023
Brown’s shot came amid a 13-0 Denver lead midway through the fourth quarter to seal the 119-108 win in Game 3 at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday to give the Nuggets a 3-0 lead. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 playoff series deficit in NBA history (0-149). The Lakers as a franchise have never forced a Game 5 when trailing 3-0 and going 0-8 in these scenarios, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
“The conditions are what they are,” said Lakers coach Darvin Hamm. “Difficult, but not impossible.”
Only the circumstances seem impossible, not only because of the unprecedented history that must have taken place, but because of the undeniable gap between these two teams during the first 144 minutes of this series.
No matter what the Lakers threw at the Nuggets, Denver came up with an answer. Double teams. projection coverage. switch. James-Davis Pick-and-Roll Game. Jamal Murray defensive catch. Hunting Nikola Jokic
Defensively. None of it bothered Denver for long.
The Nuggets hacked the Lakers the same way the Lakers hacked the Grizzlies and Warriors. She is bigger, more physically powerful, and more relentless. Although all three games had fallen into the fourth quarter, Denver always seemed steady and in control.
Jokić (27.0 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 11.3 assists for the series) and Murray (35.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists) were the two best players in the series—something that never happened against LeBron James—and Anthony Davis led the Lakers team.
The Lakers’ past came back to haunt them on Saturday — just as it did in Game 2, in a sense. Los Angeles has put in a remarkable effort over the past few months, playing heavily in the playoffs since that group was created by the February 9 trade deadline. They beat Start 2-10 and were the No. 13 seed until late February. They won their first game of the Play-In Tournament and then dispatched Memphis and Golden State despite being underdogs on the road.
But their extraneous pursuits took a physical and mental toll – one that eventually caught up to them. They were running on steam in the second half of Game 2. And that continued into Game 3 when their season essentially ended after their tank was emptied.
The only thing the Lakers can hold back from trailing 0-2 is going home, as they were 7-0 in the postseason and won nine straight games overall. But the Nuggets spoiled the advantage, grabbing a double-digit lead early in the first quarter that they held throughout the game, only being given up temporarily at the start of the fourth quarter.
Rui Hachimura gave an honest assessment of the Nuggets’ take on the Lakers.
“They are bigger than us,” said Hashimura. “…we are smaller than them, so they can just shoot us.”
Murray, who picked up where he left off in the fourth quarter of Game 2, scored 17 points in the first quarter and 30 points in the first half. At one point in the first quarter, Murray’s point total nearly matched the Lakers’. He finally calmed down in the second half, scoring seven points on 2-for-9 shooting, but his play dulled the Crypto.com Arena crowd, who were excited to host their first finals match since 2010.
Roll the tape 🎥 pic.twitter.com/ZYu9p7rm1o
– Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 21, 2023
Jared Vanderbilt and Dennis Schroeder tried to pressure and reverse Murray’s moves, but he cooked both of them.
“Dennis and Fando tried, but he’s one hell of a player,” Hamm said. “And once he rolls over, it doesn’t matter who’s in front of him.”
Joki didn’t score until late in the second quarter, as he suffered a bad tackle and the Lakers packed him in the paint, but he finished what Murray started. He scored 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the fourth period, and finished with 24 points and eight assists.
The Nuggets support team stepped up again, with Kentavious Caldwell Pope (17 points, two steals), Porter (14 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) and Brown (15 points, five rebounds and five assists) in the second half and prime time.
“I think it was the timely shots by the role players,” James said of the difference in the series. “…This has kind of allowed them to gain the advantage.”
The same cannot be said of the Lakers.
The offense carried out Anthony Davis (28 points and 18 rebounds), James (23 points, seven rebounds, and 12 assists), and Austin Reeves (23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists), as they did during the postseason. But other than Hashimura (13 points and six rebounds), there weren’t many outstanding contributions from the players.
D’Angelo Russell struggled for the third straight game, scoring three points on 1-for-8 shooting and remaining a blatant defensive target for a Denver offense. Through three games, Russell had 21 points on 8-for-27 (2-for-14 in 3s) for the series. That’s nowhere near enough offensive production from a player who makes over $30 million.
The Lakers were outscored by 53 points in the 79 minutes played. This series has been such an all-out disaster for him that it seems reasonable to wonder if the impending free agent will be able to be the team’s main point guard going forward.
“All the beautiful looks,” said Ham. “All look good. He just has to stay aggressive. All beautiful looks.”
When asked what he needed to change in his approach to be more effective, aside from just taking more shots, Russell offered not to answer.
“me?” Russell said. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know. I really don’t. I don’t know. I’ll try to find out.”
The starting group of Davis, James, Vanderbilt, Reeves and Russell does not work. Denver does not guard Vanderbilt, and they target Russell defensively with success. The Lakers were down 7 in the 12 minutes the set played in Game 3—a deficit that put Los Angeles behind at halftime. The Lakers are down to six playable players – three of whom will sit on the bench (Schroeder, Hachimura and Lonnie Walker IV).
With Los Angeles down 3-0, this is not the time for politics or sentiment. Both players must be transferred to the bench. Vanderbilt at least offers reliable defense on the ball against Murray (at least compared to the replacements). Russell has yet to contribute to either end of the word in a meaningful way in this series. It makes sense to replace them with Hachimura and Schroeder, although the Lakers also found success in Game 3 with Walker 4 along with Reeves, who is able to handle point guard duties.
Adjusting the starting lineup again late in the series could be a point of contention. But Hamm clearly made a costly miscalculation in this series — starting the lineup with three guards in Game 1 (Reaves, Russell, and Schröder) and maintaining the same starting lineup for Game 3 (and the second half of Game 3).
After that, Eiker couldn’t point to a reason for optimism — an adjustment, a glimpse of positivity from Game 3 — only that the series wasn’t technically over and they still had one more game at home.
James, whose teams have come back from going 3-1 in the NBA Finals and 2-0 in the Conference Finals twice, is confident his team’s belief in accomplishing the impossible remains strong.
“I mean, it should be,” James said. “I hope so. I can’t speak for men now because I don’t know what’s on their minds right now. But I still do.”
James shared the message he passed on to his teammates in the postgame, many of whom had never been to the playoffs.
James said of the comeback strategy. “Just one at a time. Just focus on Game 4, and that’s all you can really think about.”
The Lakers will hold a photo session on Sunday, hoping to figure out a way to slow down Denver’s unstoppable offense. They’re trying to avoid the fate of 91 of the 149 teams they’ve been in: being swept away. Only three teams in NBA history have forced a Game 7 after losing 3-0 in the series.
A Los Angeles team that has already pulled off the unthinkable, being the first team with eight games under . 500 at any point in the season to advance to the Conference Finals and the second No. 7 seed to advance that far, is trying to call the money to keep their season afloat. Life in the fourth game on Monday.
“Our backs have been against the wall (since) maybe about the last couple of months, maybe more than that since the trade deadline,” Reeves said. “He swings, he throws punches to fight to get to this opportunity. … Either we go out on Monday and go home, or we can fight another day. And with the group of guys we have, I know what that answer will be.”
(Photo by Nikola Jokic and Lakers: Harry Ho/Getty Images)