Nuggets hold to win and reduce Lakers lead to 2-1

Torrey Craig of the Denver Nuggets (3) and Jamal Murray (27) celebrate a dunk by Murray as LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers passes right during the second half of Game 3 of the Western Conference basketball final of the NBA, Tuesday, September 22. , 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. | AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – Jamal Murray had 28 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds and two late 3-pointers to stop a Lakers attack, helping the Denver Nuggets to a 114-106 victory Tuesday night that cut the Los Angeles lead 2 -1 in the Western Conference final.

The Nuggets lost nearly the entirety of a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, but held on to win, avoiding a 3-0 hole that would have been overwhelming even for this team that never runs away.

Denver has set a record by erasing two 3-1 deficits this postseason, but no NBA team has come back from 3-0.

Jerami Grant added 26 points, his best mark in the playoffs, and Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who will try to even the series in Game 4 on Thursday.

LeBron James scored 30 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who were two wins shy of their first NBA Finals appearance in a decade. Anthony Davis, who made the triple winner at the bell in Game 2, scored 27 points.

The Nuggets held a 20 lead with 10 1/2 minutes to play and soon after held out after the Lakers attacked with a 19-2 run, becoming a zone defense and forcing turnovers that led to easy baskets.

With Denver’s lead at four, Murray hit a triple with 2:16 to play. He then found Paul Millsap under the basket to score before hitting a long 3 to take the lead to 111-99 with 53 seconds left.

TIPS

Lakers: The Lakers had an interrupted six-game winning streak and fell to 10-3 in these playoffs. … Dwight Howard started the second half in center, replacing JaVale McGee.

Nuggets: Denver’s last halftime lead had been a 59-57 lead over the Clippers in Game 3 of the West semifinals. … Denver coach Michael Malone wished his parents a happy anniversary during his interview after the third quarter. His father, Brendan, was a long-time NBA assistant coach and also coached the Toronto Raptors in 1995-96, their inaugural season.

THE AIR ABOVE

The Lakers went into the game 4-0 in the playoffs as the designated visiting team. Coach Frank Vogel said nothing really changes in the Walt Disney World bubble except the benches teams are sitting on, but joked about the big difference he would have expected from his team in a normal situation.

“You know, I made sure our guys did whatever they had to do to adjust to the altitude of playing in Denver tonight because Game 3, you always have to take that altitude into account,” he said. “We may not have to account for it tonight in Orlando.”

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