On April 26, the first round of the NBA playoffs continued. The Los Angeles Lakers returned home for Game 3 of the series against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets, who trailed in the first two quarters, came back in the third quarter and held on to their lead in the final quarter. In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Lakers 112-105 on the road, and won the series 3-0.
Nuggets: Jokic 24 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists, Porter 20 points and 10 rebounds, Gordon 29 points and 15 rebounds, Murray 22 points and 9 assists.
Lakers: James 26 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists, Davis 33 points and 15 rebounds, Reaves 22 points, Russell scored 0 points on 0-of-7 shooting.
The Lakers started the game 8-0 in the first quarter, and the Nuggets were forced to call an early stoppage. The Nuggets gradually found their groove in the middle of the game, and Gordon scored four straight points to help the team chase 17-21. The Lakers scored six straight points in a wave to stretch the margin to double digits again. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led the Nuggets by 10 points at 33-23.
In the first half of the second quarter, the Lakers maintained a lead of about 10 points, and the Nuggets began to chase points in the second half, and after a wave of six consecutive points, the Nuggets chased 43-47 at 2:43, and the Lakers asked for a timeout. After the timeout, the Lakers once again stretched to an eight-point gap, Murray and Gordon scored four points in a row, and the Nuggets trailed the Lakers by four points at halftime 49-53.
In the third quarter, the Nuggets began to exert their strength, and Porter's three-point shot helped them overtake the Lakers in 10:07.58-55. After the timeout, the Lakers scored four straight points to take the lead again, but after that, the Nuggets launched a 13-2 attack wave in the middle of the game, and the Nuggets led the Lakers by 10 points at 73-63 with 4:57. The Lakers scored six straight points to close the gap, and the Nuggets responded with an 8-0 run. At the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets led 83-75.
Porter's dunk in the fourth quarter helped the Nuggets lead 93-81 to 12 points, and the Lakers' Prince and James hit three-pointers to make it 89-97 with 6:10. But after that, the Lakers didn't score a point in more than 3 minutes, and the Nuggets took the opportunity to pull away again, Jokic's 2+1 helped them lead 104-89 at 3:02 to 15 points, and the Lakers did not give up in the last moments, and a wave of 7-0 chased to only 7 points. Reaves hit a three-pointer in the final five seconds to make the Lakers trail by just five points at 105-110. Gordon hit two free throws and the Lakers missed their chance. In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Lakers 112-105.