NBA Roundup: Gordon leads the Nuggets to the brink of sweep

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With one championship ring and a tenacious veteran core, the Denver Nuggets are a daunting matchup for any opponent in the NBA.

They’re clearly a particular nightmare for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who are one game away from an early summer after Denver stretched its 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. Denver has 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. Every game we’re playing catch-up, and they’re really talented. It’s really hard to close a team out.”

Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points for Denver, which took control in the third quarter and cruised

through the final minutes to its fifth straight road win over Los Angeles, starting with its sweep of last season’s Western Conference finals.

“It’s fun to win games,” Porter said. “I don’t think anybody besides the media looks at the 11 (straight victories), because it’s hard. It’s not easy to beat this team. Last game, coming back from 20 points, we had to scratch and claw. So it’s not easy. But of course we like winning, and the more times we can win the better.”

Game 4 is Saturday night in Los Angeles. No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit.

DENVER LOOKS TO CLOSE OUT SERIES AGAINST LOS ANGELES IN GAME 4 Denver Nuggets (57-25, second in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (47-35, eighth in the Western Conference)

Los Angeles; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Nuggets -2.5; over/under is 215.5

WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Nuggets lead series 3-0

BOTTOM LINE: The Denver Nuggets look to clinch the series over the Los Angeles Lakers in game four of the Western Conference first round. The Nuggets beat the Lakers 112105 in the last meeting. Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 29 points, and Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 33 points.