Lakers vs. Nuggets: The story up to now

The Lakers and the Denver Nuggets resume the Western Conference finals tonight in Orlando, Fla., with the Lakers leading the series 2-1. A look at some of the trends from the first three games.

SCORING SLOWDOWN

Through Game 1 and the first half of Game 2, the Lakers reached 30 points in four of six quarters. Since then, they have reached the mark only once, in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Here’s the average score per quarter for the first six quarters of the series and the last six:

STAR POWER

Much was expected in the series from the Lakers’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis and the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, and they all have delivered. Their per-game averages for the series:

THE THIRD OPTION

An important factor for each team is finding another scorer beyond its big two. The Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma has been inconsistent and the Nuggets’ Jerami Grant didn’t do much until Game 3, when he had 26 points, second on the team to Murray’s 28. Their points per game:

DEEP-SEEDED ISSUE

The Lakers were 21st in the regular season in three-point percentage at 34.9% and the Nuggets were 15th at 35.9% (Utah led the league at 38.0%). The Lakers had a great start on threes to start the series but have cooled off dramatically:

RESPECT FOR THE KING?

James averaged 7.6 free throws a game in each of the Lakers’ first two series. Against the Nuggets, he’s taken 10 total in three games. The Lakers had a huge advantage in free throws in the opener, but that changed in Games 2 and 3. Here are the free throws for the teams in each game: