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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — Fresh off his 285th career playoff game — Denver Nuggets' starting five have cleared a total of 275 — Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has plenty of experience to play in the postseason. He talked in detail about what it takes to be successful. Game 3 on Thursday night was a 112-105 loss.
“There should be anxiety and pressure, or you should feel pressure,'' James said after Denver went 3-0 in the first round and was one win away from leading L.A. to its second consecutive summer. said. “That's what matters. This is what the postseason is about.”
With Anthony Davis in his right corner, James backed his and the Lakers' center's ability to perform when the game mattered most. The pair earned a total of 59 points. James led Los Angeles with 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting, six rebounds and nine assists, while Davis scored 33 points on 14-of-23 shooting and 15 boards.
He didn't say the same about the rest of the Lakers. The Lakers are led by stars Nikola Jokic (29 points, 15 rebounds) and Jamal Murray (22 points, 9 assists).
Asked if the Lakers were overwhelmed by the Nuggets' high-level performance, James said: “You have to ask the people you ask and see how they feel. 'Here's what I think.' 'It's difficult to say,' he said. The man feels it.’ …I can’t do that because I’m not a mind reader. ”
No one could ask Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell that question. According to a team spokesperson, after the third game ended with no points on 0 of 7 shots (0 of 3 from 6), he refused to speak with reporters after the game.
“We've always been–me and this guy.” [Davis] “We've been playing together for six years,” James continued. “We've been to the top of the mountain. We've been close to the top. We've played a lot of games. We know what it takes to win. We're in the championship game. I know what it takes to win and how close to perfection you have to be. It's not that crazy to get.”
However, it seems a little impossible for the Lakers to play against the Nuggets. They have lost 11 straight against Denver, the fifth-longest losing streak of any team in the franchise. And the four teams before the Lakers on that list — Detroit, Houston, Charlotte and Portland — haven't come close to winning a championship in recent years.
Denver wasn't untouchable in Game 3 either. Los Angeles opened with an 8-0 lead, but just 1 minute and 50 seconds after teeoff, the Nuggets were called for a timeout and the roof was nearly blown off the building by hometown fans. And just like the 12-point lead the Lakers built in Game 1 and 20-point lead in Game 2, they were up to a 12-point lead Thursday.
Then the third quarter started and Denver outscored them 34-22. The Nuggets are currently outscoring LA by 31 points in the third quarter through three games. The Lakers outscored the Nuggets by 11 points in the other nine quarters.
“Our third quarter was terrible,” guard Austin Reeves said. He was the only Laker player besides James and Davis to score in double figures, but 10 of his 22 points came late in the fourth quarter after the Nuggets took control.
The sour looks on the Lakers' bench and coaching staff late in the game suggested the series was all but over, but there's still a Game 4 home game in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Davis said the Lakers must clean up their rebounds and continue to get back in transition on defense to score more points after allowing 19 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds.
“We have to score,” Davis said. “The second time there were only 20 people. [quarter], 22 for the third time. Who would score on a team like that, so we have to be able to score too. ”
The Lakers are averaging just 102.3 points as a team in the series. LA averaged 124.4 points in the final 15 games of the regular season and 12 wins in the play-in tournament leading up to the Denver series.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets remain on high alert.
“I think every game is getting tougher and tougher,” Jokic said. “In Denver they were up by 20 points and today they were up by 12 in the first half. I think it's really hard to play against the same team over and over again, whether it's the style of play or whatever. , we can't be 'bored'. But we need everyone to keep trying, especially for us – because we won the last three games – and believe in what we're doing. And don't get tired of success, because it can go wrong really quickly.”
That's all LA can hope for right now – that the Lakers can find some cracks in the Nuggets' foundation to extend the season.
“Right now, it's one game at a time,” James said. “If we lose, we'll go home. So we're going to go into it with the mindset, 'Let's win one.'” If we force Game 5, we'll start from there, so as long as we still have life, we'll always have faith and the wheels will come off. I think I'll play until then. ”
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.
