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The Denver Nuggets won Game 3 against the Lakers after a convincing performance of more than three quarters and reduced it to 1-2 in the West Finals. In addition to the winner of the match, Jamal Murray, the focus was mainly on one role player. Nuggets are encouraged because they have learned the lessons of Game 2 and because there is still room for improvement. These are the highlights of the game.
After the horrific finale in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, which ended badly for Denver with the Anthony Davis ring, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone knew exactly how to free his team from the negative spiral. : had to confront his players with the same scene.
“We had to get the elephant out of the room and in preparation we first saw the last play of the game,” Malone said after the 114:10 success in game 3. Only then did he focus on the positives: “After that We saw a lot of clips of scenes where we did the right thing. We only had to do it for more than half the time. Today we did it for three-quarters. “
In fact, the Colorado team performed well after a quarter at eye level, especially in stages two and three, and won them 64:48. “They made plays, they got to the free throw line, they played with great energy. We weren’t as focused as we should have been,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said, praising the opponent.
In the first quarter it was Jokic with 11 of his 22 points, in the second it was Monte Morris with 12 points from the bench, in the third Jerami Grant with the same performance. Almost eleven minutes before the end the Nuggets were leading 97:77, after a rebound Murray dribbled across the field without resistance and sank Spalding with a resounding dunk.
Denver Nuggets played an advantage of almost 20 points
Subsequently, the Lakers sprayed a zone defense over and over again, knocked Denver out of the concept and started a 19-2 run. With the nuggets, the losses of spooky balls increased, there were 8 in the fourth quarter alone (20 in total). “That shouldn’t happen to us. We have to work on our zone offense and take better care of the ball,” Malone said of the development in the fourth quarter.
After Jokic threw the ball twice, LA managed to shorten it to 96:99. “We allowed them to get back into the game. Our energy was no longer there,” Murray said angrily, while the mortgage in the eyes of Lakers star LeBron James was too great at the end: “Having the first 36 minutes hurts. a lot “. Then the Lakers dropped two big free throws, and Denver could rely on game winner Murray.
First he sank a step-back set, then after an offensive foul by Rondo, he played an outstanding pass to Paul Millsap in the zone for an open dunk. After a trio lost by Rondo, Murray closed the lid with a very deep shot from a distance with a second on the shot clock (here are his best scenes in the video). Thanks to Murray, the Nuggets conjured an 8-0 run on the court in 74 seconds and put it to 111: 99. Murray finished the game with 28 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds.
“We have a very resilient group and we’ve proven it time and time again,” Malone said, praising his team’s ability to drink, while Jokic especially praised Murray: “He had shoulder and elbow issues when we got here. But I’ve always had them. I believed in him. He’s made for the important litters. He took us today, as he has done countless times. “
Nuggets vs. Lakers: “I’m not ready to play yet”
Even if it was Murray who set the tone in the final stages, the Nuggets’ victory was an absolute team effort. There was a different top scorer in the four sections and different players appeared at both ends of the field.
Grant set a career-high 26 points in the playoffs. He scored two of his seven goals from distance (from where he had repeatedly stumbled before) and also made his way to the line twelve times: “I’m proud of him. It’s great to see his offensive successes because he worked so hard We know what we got from Jamal and Nikola every night. We have two superstars. The question is always who will be the third scorer. Today Jerami was crucial, “Malone said.
Millsap, who again disappointed offensively and yet won his first playoff game against LeBron on the 11th try, also made his contribution by limiting Anthony Davis. In Games 1 and 2, AD had hit 4 of 13 pitches when Millsap defended him, in Game 3 it was just 1 of 7 (6/8 against the remaining Denver defenders). So the Lakers star is 25 percent when Millsap acts as the main defender.
For these reasons, Malone is not afraid of the other games in the series (game 4 is live Friday night starting at 3 a.m. DAZN), although this was not the case before this game: “We believe in it, I had no doubt that today we will be there. We have won six knockout games in a row. Everyone thinks we will pack our bags and go out, but we are not ready to go yet. It. For some reason, we love the bubble. I can’t explain it either. “
Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. (3) Denver Nuggets: the series at a glance
| game | date | Hour | Team 1 | Team 2 | Outcome |
| one | September 19th | 3 o’clock | Los Angeles Lakers | Denver nuggets | 126: 114 |
| two | September 21st | 1:30 | Los Angeles Lakers | Denver nuggets | 105: 103 |
| 3 | September 23 | 3 o’clock | Denver nuggets | Los Angeles Lakers | 114: 106 |
| 4 | September 25th | 3 o’clock | Denver nuggets | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| 5 | September 27th | 3 o’clock | Los Angeles Lakers | Denver nuggets | |
| 6 * | September 29th | tba | Denver nuggets | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| 7 * | October 1st | tba | Los Angeles Lakers | Denver nuggets |
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