The Los Angeles Lakers are now down three games in their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, after losing 112-105 at home. The Nuggets have now won 11 games in a row against the Lakers, which includes a sweep in the Western Conference Finals last year.
Denver had a balanced scoring attack that had four of their five starters passing 20 points. Aaron Gordon led the team with 29 points and 15 rebounds while Jokic came close to yet another triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists. Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray added 20 and 22 respectively.
Anthony Davis had a big night for the Lakers, scoring 33 points to go along with his 15 rebounds. Lebron James went for 26 on 12-20 shooting and had nine assists. The Lakers bench was once again caught lacking, only offering 19 points to support their starters.
The Lakers had the lead for much of the first half but the Nuggets broke free in the third quarter, outsourcing the Lakers 34 to 22. Ultimately, it was too difficult a hill to climb for the Lakers in the fourth, as Dnever held on to win by 7.
The Nuggets went 16-4 in last season’s playoffs and they look good to do even better this year. The Lakers just can’t seem to win against Denver, even with a 20 point lead in Game 2. While things don’t look great going into Game 3 on Sunday the Lakers will still feel like they have an outside chance given how close the games have been.
Embiid Scores 50 in Sixers Win
Joel Embiid came up huge for the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 versus the New York Knicks, dropping 50 points in the team’s 125-114 win.
Last year’s MVP went 13-19 from the floor, including 5 threes and went a whopping 19-21 from the free throw line. He became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the postseason.
Tyrese Maxey finished with 25 points and seven assists, while Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 points to help Embiid. Cameron Payne had three clutch three-points off the bench in his 11 points.
The Knicks were led by Jalen Brunson who had a top performance with 39 points and 13 assists. Josh Hart scored 20 but Donte DiVincenzo was disappointing with only 5 points on 2-7 shooting.
The Knicks held a small lead at the half but a big third quarter from Embiid really changed the momentum in the game. The Sixers ended up scoring 43 points in the third and went 9 for 12 from three point land, opening up a 13 point lead going into the final frame.
The Knicks still lead the series 2-1 going into Game 4 on Sunday in Philadelphia but the Sixers will be feeling confident after yesterday’s win.
Orlando Blow Out Cleveland 121-83
The Orlando Magic handed the Cleveland Cavaliers their worst playoff loss in franchise history on Thursday night, blowing them out 121-83. It was the team’s first playoff victory since 2020 and the first on their home floor since April 26, 2011. The Cavaliers still hold the lead in the series however, 2-1, after winning the first two games at home.
Paolo Banchero led the Magic in scoring with 31 points to go with 14 rebounds and Jalen Suggs added 24 on 9-11 shooting from the field. Franz Wagner also had a solid night, finishing with 16 points and eight assists.
There wasn’t much good on the Cavaliers side as the team shot just 39% from the field and 23.5% from 3-point range. Jarret Allen had 15 points and 8 rebounds, Caris Levert 15 points and Donovan Mitchell 13 points and seven assists.
Orlando led the game from the very beginning but really cut the game open in the third quarter, outsourcing the Cavs 35 to 16. The Cleveland starters were taken out of the game with 3:16 left in the third, down 92-58.
The Magic will be looking to even out the series with a victory at home Saturday afternoon. The Cavs on the other hand will try and put the awful defeat past them and get back on track to take the series.
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