Nuggets race past Lakers, Sixers beat Knicks

LOS ANGELES: The Denver Nuggets rallied to push Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs on Thursday as the Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 50 points from Joel Embiid, clawed back a win against the Knicks.

The defending champion Nuggets erased a 10-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Lakers 112-105 in Los Angeles.

Aaron Gordon scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic added 24 points, another 15 boards and nine assists for the Nuggets, who took a 3-0 stranglehold on the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series.

No NBA team has rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.

“We’ve got to figure out how to get one (win) on Saturday to stay alive,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.

But the Nuggets have now won 11 straight games against the Lakers, including their sweep in last season’s Western Conference finals.

Anthony Davis scored 33 points and pulled down 15 rebounds and James scored 26 points with six rebounds and nine assists.

But D’angelo Russell went scoreless, missing all seven of his shot atempts, and Davis had just three points in the final period.

Jamal Murray, who made the buzzer-beating game-winner in the Nuggets’ crushing 101-99 victory on Monday, added 22 points and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr. chipped in 20 points and 10 rebounds for Denver.

Both the 76ers and the Orlando Magic avoided falling 0-3 down, Philadelphia with a spectacular offensive display from reigning NBA MVP Embiid in a 125-114 victory over the Knicks.

The Magic routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-83 to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Ater the 76ers dropped two games at Madison Square Garden, Embiid defiantly insisted they were the “beter team” and would right the ship at home.

He made sure they did, connecting on 13 of 19 shots including five of seven from three-point range. He scored 18 points in the third quarter, when the Sixers erased a three-point haltime deficit and pushed their lead to 13 going into the fourth.

Ater his big night, Embiid revealed he was playing with Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes muscle weakness in one side of the face.