The Denver Nuggets asphyxiated the Los Angeles Lakers to push them to the brink of elimination in the quarterfinals of the NBA play-offs. In the East, Joel Embiid’s 50 points allow Philadelphia to come back on New York, which leads 2-1.
Led 3-0 by the reigning champion, the Lakers no longer have the right to make mistakes. From Saturday, they will have to “find a way to win to stay alive,” summarized Darvin Ham, Lakers coach.
Los Angeles, however, led by ten points in the first quarter on its floor and was still in the lead at half-time, before being gradually overwhelmed by the Nuggets (112-105).
Danger came from everywhere for LA: Aaron Gordon (29 points, 15 rebounds), Nikola Jokic close to the triple-double (24 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists), Jamal Murray (22 pts) and Michael Porter Jr. (20 pts , 10 rebounds) did everything for Denver, who is now in an ideal position.
A team trailing 3-0 has never reversed the trend to qualify for the NBA play-offs, which are played in the best of seven matches.
The Nuggets now have eleven victories in a row against the Lakers, including the 4-0 inflicted last year in the Western Conference final and the last two successes in their room on Saturday and Monday.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily our opponent,” Gordon said. “I think it’s about what we do and who we are in the locker room.”
For the Lakers, neither Anthony Davis (33 points, 15 rebounds) nor LeBron James (26 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists) were enough. D’Angelo Russell didn’t score a single point, missing all seven of his attempts, and Davis scored just three points in the final quarter.
Embiid brings the Knicks to their knees
Even after the 76ers’ two defeats at Madison Square Garden, Embiid said Philadelphia was the “best team” and that they would turn things around at home against New York.
On Thursday, he walked the talk by scoring 50 points, hitting 13 of 19 shots, including five of seven three-pointers. Victorious 125-114, the Sixers reduce the score to 2-1.
In a stunning third quarter, last year’s MVP scored 18 points, allowing the Sixers to erase a three-point halftime deficit and extend their lead to 13 points heading into the final quarter .
After his huge performance, also with eight rebounds and four assists, Embiid revealed that he suffered from Bell’s disease, which causes muscle weakness on one side of the face and causes facial paralysis.
“It’s pretty boring,” he said. This paralysis, which generally disappears within a few weeks or months, affects “the left side of my face, my mouth and my eye”, he continued, “it’s difficult, but I don’t want to give up “.
Jalen Brunson carried the Knicks with 39 points and 13 assists. Josh Hart scored 20 points, but Game 2 hero Donte DiVincenzo only had five. The 76ers will have the opportunity to equalize on Sunday.
Banchero, magical Orlando
The Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-83 to reduce their series lead to 2-1.
In Orlando, Paolo Banchero scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to inflict the Cavs’ heaviest playoff defeat in their history.
“I just wanted to play and be aggressive,” Banchero said. “Being down 3-0 is a lot different than being down 2-1. So I knew we had to win this game and we would have to do it again on Saturday” for Game 4.
