The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James are now on the brink of elimination following their Game 3 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a rough start to the Western Conference Finals, as they dropped the first two games to the Denver Nuggets. In Game 1, there was at least a chance that the Lakers could make things interesting, but they lost 132-126. In Game 2, the Lakers had no answers for Jamal Murray in the fourth quarter, losing 108-103. But the Lakers did have a home-court advantage on their side, as they were undefeated at Crypto.com Arena this playoff run.
While Los Angeles put up a fight in the second half, it wasn’t enough to take a game at home in this series, as Denver picked up a 119-108 win.
The Lakers led 94-93 with under eight minutes remaining in regulation. But then, a 13-0 run, including three three-pointers made, helped the Nuggets pull away. The Lakers were unable to keep up, as the result became a foregone conclusion, and the home crowd began leaving the arena before the game was final.
Let’s take a look at some of the reactions on social media to the Lakers and LeBron James being pushed to the brink of elimination.
Lakers, LeBron James pushed to brink of elimination after Game 3 loss
Being down 0-3 is unideal territory for Los Angeles, as no team has ever been able to come back from this kind of deficit in NBA history. That’s right, not even James was able to overcome it throughout his 20-year career.
Speaking of James, he was able to make his first three-point shot of the series. He made back-to-back shots from behind the arc! As those who watched the game knows, that wasn’t enough.
James scored 28 points while making 8-of-19 field goal attempts and 3-of-9 three-point attempts.
Anthony Davis picked up a double-double by scoring 28 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in 42 minutes played.
Murray led the way for the Nuggets with 37 points, 17 of which came in the first quarter.
Michael Porter Jr. secured a double-double of his own after scoring 14 points and hauling in 10 boards.
The Lakers look to avoid elimination with a win on Monday. But if they don’t, the Nuggets will reach the NBA Finals for the first time.
