The Lakers didn’t play all that well, but they performed well enough to get a win (103-97) on the road in the playoffs, and that is no small feat. Denver had control for much of the game, and with Carmelo Anthony on the bench, the Nuggets built a seven-point lead at the end of the third quarter. But a sorry five-minute stretch to start the fourth quarter was Denver’s undoing. Check out these nine possessions:
11:41 J.R. Smith misses 25-foot three point jumper
10:49 Linas Kleiza misses 5-foot jumper
10:27 Chauncey Billups misses 26-foot three point jumper
10:11 Chauncey Billups makes technical free throw
9:59 Chris Andersen misses layup
9:44 J.R. Smith misses layup
8:53 Nene Hilario misses 9-foot two point shot
8:22 Trevor Ariza blocks Carmelo Anthony’s 15-foot jumper
8:18 Kenyon Martin misses layup
7:39 Pau Gasol blocks Chris Andersen’s layup
That’s one point in the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. By the time they scored again, they were trailing by one. Carmelo Anthony went cold and the Nuggets simply struggled to score. Chauncey Billups launched some ill-advised shots (and hit a few of them), but it was J.R. Smith who seemed to be the go-to man down the stretch.
For the Lakers, Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol played well in the closing minutes, but down two with about a minute to play, it was Kobe Bryant who hit a huge three pointer to put his team ahead. Denver turned the ball over (again) on the inbounds pass, and again, it was Ariza who made the big defensive play. At that point, the Lakers just had to knock down their free throws, and they did. With the win, the Lakers wrested back control of the series. Game 4 is of the “must-win” variety for the Nuggets.
