The Denver Nuggets are poised to reach the NBA Finals for the first time after taking a 3–0 lead on the Lakers
Behind the stellar play of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić, the Denver Nuggets silenced the Los Angeles Lakers crowd taking a commanding 3–0 lead in the western conference final after defeating the Lakers 119–108 Saturday evening at the Crypto.com Arena.
Jamal Murray’s blistering scoring touch carried over from game two, where he registered 23 points in the fourth quarter shooting 6/7 from the field and 4/5 from the three-point line. The Lakers desperately tried to thwart his attempts, but Murray responded with timely clutch baskets en route to a pivotal victory in game two. Initially, game three offered similar results as Murray scored 11 points in the first quarter and an outstanding 30 points in the first half, which helped carry the Nuggets as former two-time most valuable player Nikola Jokić struggled to establish his offensive rhythm in the first half of the game. Despite Murray’s offensive brilliance, the Lakers managed to keep the game close heading into halftime and only trailed by three points as the Nuggets led the game 58–55.
Throughout the playoffs, the Lakers received consistent and high-level production from future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and former all-star D’Angelo Russell. Unfortunately, the trend…
