Everyone thought that the Lakers' lives hung in the balance, and they should be the side that played more aggressively after the opening.
However, it didn't.
After the second game, everyone thought that the Lakers would make limiting Murray a top priority. One of the characteristics of stars is that they are not easily limited. After the Nuggets opened, Murray continued his second-game fourth-quarter touch, turned a jumper, hit Schroder on his back, shot 8-of-10, rarely missed, and scored 17 points. Relying on Murray's touch, the Nuggets gave the Lakers a dismount first, and quickly established a 10-point advantage in the first quarter, even when Jokic came off the break, the Nuggets maintained a double-digit lead.
The so-called home-field advantage is often that role players play better, because role players are more susceptible to factors such as atmosphere and refereeing. Rivers and Hachimura did not score in the first quarter in the first two games, and the Lakers relied on the thick-eyed interior attack and James to organize the offense to not increase the score.
After the start of the second quarter, Murray took a break from the court, and Rivers and others began to play a role. Jokic was on the field and continued to act as a playmaker. The opposite of role players playing well at home is that role players don't play well away from home. The Lakers quickly chased the deficit to 6 points, and Malone called a timeout.
Murray came on the court and James began to defend Murray.
Murray, 26, and James, 38, are two eras of players who present top basketball in front of us.
James, 26, who has yet to win his first championship, doesn't shoot well, but against his defenders, James can score easily with either speed or strength.
The 26-year-old Murray's fiery hand is unstoppable, and both James and Davis can shoot and score directly.
However, as strong as Murray, who scored 30 points in the first half, it is impossible to beat the Lakers alone. Jokic hit Hachimura twice, but didn't make a shot, and the Lakers gradually tied the score, and by the end of the second quarter, the Lakers were only three points behind.
It is necessary to mention that the Lakers have a home whistle, and it is worth mentioning that referee Foster's mouth was broken.
The Lakers did not adjust the starting lineup in the second half, or three guards were on the floor, not surprisingly, Russell and Van der Biao are still hot-eyed performances, defense, no offensive threat. Russell, in particular, has broken his psychological defense, and for a few minutes, with his own strength, he can make the Lakers head coach forced to call a timeout.
The last Lakers player with this strength was Wei Shao.
An important point in this section was a defensive blow to Jokic, who signaled the replay, but after the replay, the penalty was not changed. So for most of the third quarter, Jokic was sitting on the bench.
Jokic sat on the bench, Murray was no longer magical, and the Nuggets' Pope stepped up, three-pointers and mid-range to keep the Nuggets a slight advantage.
At this time, James's three-point shot was also opened.
Not one, it's two, and this is James' first three-point shot in the Western Conference finals, and this is the third quarter of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals.
In the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, whenever the Lakers tied the score or led by one point, there were always Nuggets' role players who stepped up, Green made three points in the bottom left corner, Brown made three points in the bottom right corner, and Porter Jr. made three points at the top of the arc.
Say that good role players are not easy to play away from home?
The Nuggets hit a small climax in 2 minutes to bring the gap to 10 points. Lakers fans should have a sense of powerlessness, that is, they feel that they can't play anything, the stars have played, and the role players are at least at a normal level, but the Nuggets always have a way to pull the score.
Unless, unless, one of them, can step up and help the Lakers fight back in the final moments. For example, James, 35, or Murray, 26.
The 26-year-old Murray is not on the Lakers lineup, and James is already 38, and all he can do is make three-pointers instead of storming the interior.
Lakers Major Player Ratings:
James: B+
Finally shooting three-pointers, defending Murray, fast-attacking the line, but, inefficient, no longer a game affecting the star in the final moments, the Lakers need an A or A+ James to win.
Davis: B+
Offense and defense were okay, and he became a role player in the fourth quarter.
Rivers: A
Efficient, playing reasonably, Russell Dora, Rivers has many tops. Now Rivers has raised his own standards and can't be compared with Russell and others, but he still deserves an A, and he doesn't give an A+ because the Lakers lost.
Russell: F
The biggest contribution is when you are not present
Rui Hachimura: A
Defensive Jokic is effective, offense is resolute, and almost completes the pairing with Jokic, which is a very important factor for the Lakers.
Van der Biao: C+
As before, the plus is to distinguish him from Russell, the three-point Nuggets may not be able to shoot, he does not deserve to be in the rotation, let alone the starter.
Schroeder: B
Murray defended hard enough, fouled a lot, and didn't attack well.
Walker: B
Apart from hitting a three-pointer, there were no highlights. But the shot is determined enough to deserve the rotation.
Nuggets Key Players:
Jokic: A
By MVP standards, Jokic was the standard of war criminals in the first 40 minutes, but in the final moments he showed his growing leadership, no one played to slip through his hands, which is what I predicted before, Jokic evolved.
Murray: A
The first half was brave, the second half was no longer magical, but it was still obvious.
Gordon: B+
Assists are the highlight, and other than that, it's all slots
Popper: A+
The third saved Kic for a foul on the bench, and Murray stepped up to become a star for the Nuggets after being limited, and the Nuggets would have fallen behind a lot in the third quarter without Pope.
Green: A-
Competent rotation player, active defensively and experienced.
Porter: A-
Relaxation is often slack, but the three points are still online
Brown: A+
Top rotation player performance.
