Lakers search for an answer
With one championship ring and a tenacious veteran core, the Nuggets are a daunting matchup for any opponent in the NBA.
They’re clearly a particular nightmare for LeBron James and the Lakers, who are one game away from an early summer after the Nuggets stretched their winning streak in this lopsided rivalry to a whopping 11 games.
Aaron Gordon had a playoff career-high 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and the Nuggets moved to the brink of the second round with a 112-105 victory over the Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round series Thursday night.
Jamal Murray scored 22 points to help the defending NBA champion Nuggets win their seventh straight playoff meeting with James and the Lakers in dominating style. The Nuggets have rallied from a double-digit deficit in all three games, and the Nuggets went out of their way after Game 3 to praise an opponent they’ve utterly dominated recently.
“I think every game is tougher and tougher,” Jokic said. “They were up 20 in Denver, they were up 12 today in the first half, but I think it’s really hard to play against the same team over and over again. ... That’s a really tough team, and every game is really interesting and tough to win.”
Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points for the Nuggets, who took control in the third quarter and cruised through the final minutes to its fifth straight road win over the Lakers, starting with its sweep of last season’s Western Conference
finals.
Game 4 is Saturday night in Los Angeles. No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit.
“You come out with the mindset, ‘Let’s get one, force a Game 5, and then we go from there,’” James said. “As long as you still have life, then you obviously have belief. I just think you play ‘til the wheels fall off. That’s what it’s always about for me. That’s a mindset, and I know (Davis) feels the same way.”
The Lakers had won 12 of 15 heading into this series — but now they’re one loss away from failing to win a playoff round for the third time in four years since their 2020 NBA title.
76ers All-Star Embiid says he has Bell’s palsy:
76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
Embiid wore sunglasses to the podium after he scored 50 points in the Sixers’ Game 3 win over the Knicks and said he’s dealt with various symptoms such as blurred vision and dry eyes. Embiid said he first started noticing the affliction about a “day or two” before the Sixers played the Heat on April 17.
Embiid complained of migraines but “thought it was nothing” before he finally notified doctors he wasn’t feeling well.
“My body was just, I was just not feeling it,” Embiid said. “Yes, it’s pretty annoying. My left side of my face, my mouth and my eye. It’s been tough. But I’m not a quitter. I’m going to keep fighting through anything. It’s unfortunate, that’s the way I look at it. But it’s not an excuse. I’ve got to keep pushing.”