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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — Shiny purple and gold streamers descended from the ceiling of Crypto.com Arena on Saturday as the Los Angeles Lakers survived their first-round series with a 119-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Not only did they show that, but so did the team in Los Angeles. It was the first win over Denver in about 500 days.
Ending an 11-game losing streak against the defending champions was certainly a better option than going into the offseason having been eliminated from the playoffs by the Nuggets for the second year in a row.
But the Lakers, trailing 3-1 in the series, remain in danger of elimination heading into Monday’s Game 5.
“Well, our only chance is to play the next game,” LeBron James said after scoring 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. “And we gave ourselves a new life. We gave ourselves another lifeline, and it’s a one-game series for us.”
No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series. Then again, no team in league history had come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals until James and the Cleveland Cavaliers accomplished the feat in 2016. And that’s by defeating a Golden State Warriors team that won 73 games.
“Monday’s game is the most important game of the season for us. We understand that, we know that. So if we lose, it’s over,” said James, who currently has the most 30-point games in the league. said. 19 removal scenarios. “If you win, you keep going.”
The series opener will test the team’s cohesiveness, with forward Anthony Davis and head coach Darvin Ham exchanging public shots between Games 2 and 3, and D.C., who was 0-for-1 on Thursday. The specter of Angelo Russell’s playoffs has resurfaced. -7 Shots — Game 4 reflected the playoff slogan printed on yellow rally towels handed out at the arena.
“That unity, that growth, all the things we talked about. [Friday] It’s a great day to be alone and, you know, to live to keep living,” Hamm said. “That was the message yesterday and that was the message today. We just need to win one game. And we have to refocus, recalibrate and bring that same mindset going into Denver.”
Davis had an impressive performance on Saturday, totaling 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting, 23 rebounds and six assists, which tied his playoff record. Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic averaged 30.5 points, a shooting percentage of 62.2%, and 15.8 rebounds in the series, and in Game 4 he showed an overwhelming performance with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists. often fought against.
“AD doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone,” James said. “He’s one of the best bigs we have in this game, one of the best bigs in the world, and he’s shown that again through the first four games.”
Russell outperformed Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray, scoring 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting for a plus-15 rating, while Murray had 22 points on 9-of-23 shooting for a minus-3 rating. was recorded.
Unlike last year, when he was benched for Game 4 of the conference finals, Ham put Russell in the starting lineup. He said he told Russell heading into Saturday how much he believed in him.
“I mean, that’s a blessing, but I believe in myself more than anyone else,” Russell said of Ham’s belief in himself. “I didn’t need that, but I appreciate it.”
Now the question is, after everything went right for LA on Saturday, do they believe they can repeat this success in Game 5? The Lakers outscored Denver 46-40. They outscored the Nuggets 14-5 in second-chance points. They dominated the points in the paint battle, 72-52. They built a double-digit lead in the second quarter and never trailed below seven points in the second half. They led 13-5 in bench scoring. After trailing by 31 points in the third quarter through the first three games, they held the pace against Denver, barely trailing 32-30 in Game 4.
“We have a lot of confidence in our team,” Davis said. “We’ve led so many times in this series, and the only time we didn’t lead was in the second half, and the only time we couldn’t really score on the basketball was in the third quarter. So our confidence is high. was never lost at any point in the game. ”
Despite winning the in-season tournament in December, the Lakers fell to 13th place in the West in January and had to struggle through the past few months of the regular season just to qualify for the play-in tournament. The team needs to play at least one more game.
Austin Reeves: “Of course it would have been nice to win 4-0” [21 points, six assists] Said. “The odds are not stacked in our favor. But whenever we can stay above water, we have an opportunity to do something special. And we is ready for the challenge.”
