LOS ANGELES – The Lakers earned a trip back to Denver.
Here are three takeaways from Denver’s 119-108 loss on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena:
1. Denver’s paint defense continued to be a problem Saturday. After the Lakers scored 70 points in the paint in Game 3, Anthony Davis and company surpassed that number Saturday. The Lakers scored 24 of their 28 first-quarter points in the paint and had a 42-24 advantage in the category at halftime. Los Angeles finished with 72 points in the paint to Denver’s 52. If the Nuggets don’t want to return to Los Angeles for a sixth game, they’ll need to defend the interior better. Davis finished with 25 points and 23 rebounds.
2. The Nuggets have no one to blame but themselves. Despite the Lakers’ dominance inside and home-court advantage, the Nuggets had a 25-16 advantage in free throws before they started fouling intentionally in the final 40 seconds. The Crypto.com crowd chanted “Refs, you suck,” after Nikola Jokic earned Denver’s 20th and 21st free throws late in the third quarter. The Lakers had just eight free throws at the time. Lakers fans repeated the chant minutes later when Jokic got back to the line for his eighth and ninth free throws of the game.
3. Michael Porter Jr. was, once again, Denver’s second-best player. Porter recorded a double-double in the third quarter and started the fourth quarter with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He finished the game with 27 points, 11 rebounds, one assist and one steal in 40 minutes of playing time. He went 4 of 11 from 3, the only Nugget to make more than two triples.
LAKERS 119, NUGGETS 108
What happened: The Lakers led wire to wire to avoid the sweep.
The Lakers led by five to start the second quarter and Denver fell behind by 11 in the second. Los Angeles led 61-48 at halftime. The Nuggets shaved a couple of points off the Lakers’ lead to start the fourth but failed to ever take the lead.
What went right: Nikola Jokic recorded his 19th playoff triple-double with his first of assist of the fourth quarter. He finished with 33 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. For as good as he was offensively, Jokic was part of Denver’s woes defending the paint and rebounding.
What went wrong: Aaron Gordon wasn’t able to match his productivity from Game 3. After dropping playoff career highs of 29 points and 15 rebounds in Game 3, Gordon finished with seven points and three rebounds.
Highlight of the night: A Nikola Jokic dime helped Denver get off to a better start Saturday. Denver’s point-center dribbled the ball at the top of the key with his shoulders facing the sideline. When Michael Porter Jr. used an off-ball screen from Jamal Murray and curled to the basket, Jokic wrapped a bounce pass behind his back that hit Porter in stride. Porter had enough time and space to go up for a dunk that cut the Lakers lead to one in the middle of the first quarter before Rui Hachimura could challenge Porter at the rim.
Up next: The Nuggets can’t start focusing on a second-round matchup with the Timberwolves. It’s back to Denver for Monday’s Game 5 at Ball Arena.
