NUGGETS, NAKABAWI SA LAKERS

Pinangunahan ni Jamal Murray ang atake ng Denver Nuggets upang mapabagsak ang Los Angeles Lakers, 114-106 sa Game 3 ng kanilang best-of-seven Western Conference finals showdown.

Kumamada ang 28 puntos si Murray habang matinding depensa naman ang ipinakita ng Nuggets sa huling minuto ng laro upang maitala ang kanilang unang panalo sa serye at magkaroon ng 1-2 kartada sa finals.

Dalawang three-pointers ang pinakawalan ni Murray bago matapos ang laro upang itumba ang Lakers.

Ayon kay Denver coach Michael Malone, siniguro nilang hindi sila masasadlak sa 0-3 hole sa serye.

“I had no doubt we were going to show up tonight,” sabi ni Malone. “We have won six straight elimination games. Everybody always has us packing our bags and leaving, but we’re not ready to go. They’re a very resilient group and they have proved that time and time again.”

Si Murray naman, sinabing kailangan nilang doblehin pa ang kayod sa serye. “That’s my whole energy, my whole approach to the game, not getting down if I miss a couple of shots,” sabi ni Murray.

“I’m just trying to be aggressive but the most important part is the energy I bring when I’m talking to my teammates, being a vocal leader, getting up and down and pushing everybody so they tend to follow. I just wanted to see them have a lot of fun today,”dagdag niya. Sinabi naman ni Lakers coach Frank Vogel na talagang kakaibang Denver ang sumalubong sa kanila sa Game 3.

“You put yourself in an 18-point hole, it’s tough to climb out of that,” sabi ni Vogel. “I thought Denver played with great energy throughout the game. We didn’t match it early; we matched it late. They’re a great basketball team so credit it to them for the win. They played a really good basketball game.”

“We were not as sharp as we could have been on both ends of the floor. We were playing at a high level, but were a little bit off in the first half. “But I liked the spirit that the guys competed with down the stretch to try and make it a game,” dagdag niya.