Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post If all the players not named LeBron James and Anthony Davis play poorly for the Lakers, they’ll keep losing to the Nuggets as they did in Game 3 on Thursday. LOS ANGELES - The eleventh time wasn’t the charm for the Lakers as they fell to the Nuggets yet again on Thursday, losing 112-105. The storyline between these two teams is as innovative as a Three’s Company rerun: you can guess how it went even if you didn’t watch it. The Lakers got out to an early double-digit lead. Anthony Davis and LeBron James carried the team throughout. The Nuggets pulled awa ..read more

Photo by David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 112-105 Game 3 loss to the Nuggets. There are no long introductions needed this time. We’re just shy of a dozen episodes deep into this show and the plot is the same every time. The Lakers start fast, build double-digit lead, the Nuggets grind away and take the lead, eventually win. The starring players and standout supporting cast change from game to game. There might even be a little twist like the Lakers’ implosion in Game 2, but the story ends the same. So ..read more

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports The Lakers lost yet again to the Nuggets on Thursday, effectively ending their season as they fell to a 3-0 hole in the series. Officially, the Lakers and Nuggets have to play one more game in this series before it’s over. However, there’s no stronger advertisement for the league to go back to five-game series in the first round than this one. Everything about the ending of Thursday’s Game 3 felt like the final game of a series with one team conceding they didn’t have it and the other ready to move on to the next round. Unfortunately for both sides, there is st ..read more

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports As the Lakers were losing an 11th straight game to the Nuggets and falling behind 3-0 in the series, fans voiced their frustrations at Darvin Ham late in Game 3. The Lakers are stuck in a timeloop these playoffs and the Nuggets are making it the worst possible outcome every single time. Thursday was the latest installment with the Lakers jumping out to an early lead, falling behind in the second half and, this time, losing without much of a fight. That marked the 11th-straight win for the Nuggets over the Lakers, on top of the purple and gold falling behind 3-0 ..read more

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images It was an all-too-familiar feeling for the Lakers on Thursday as they fell to the Nuggets for an eleventh straight time to fall down 3-0 in the series. In a movie scene that has played over and over again, the Lakers started fast and finished slow as they fell to the Nuggets in Game 3 on Thursday, 112-105, falling behind 3-0 in the series. LA’s superstar duo once again came out strong. Anthony Davis ended the game with 33 points, 15 rebounds and three assists. LeBron James pitched in with 26 points with six rebounds, nine assists, two steals and one ..read more

Knicks and 76ers are one of the exciting matchups out east | Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports Welcome to the 2024 playoff thread for round 1. Hello folks. Here is going to be your first round discussion for all the teams not named the Lakers. First round matchups West 1 seed Thunder versus the 8 seed Pelicans. Thunder lead 2-0 2 seed Nuggets versus the 7 seed Lakers. Nuggets lead 2-0 3 seed Timberwolves vs 6 seed Suns. Timberwolves lead 2-0 4 seed Clippers versus 5 seed Mavs Tie series. 1-1 East 1 seed Celtics versus the 8 seed Heat. Series is tied 1-1 2 seed Knicks vs the 7 seed 76ers. Knicks lead ..read more

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images The win didn’t happen, but the Lakers, including D’Angelo Russell, had many positives to take away from Monday’s Game 2 loss to the Nuggets. It was close but no cigar for the Lakers, who came painfully close to beating the Nuggets in Game 2 but fell short thanks to Denver's second-half comeback. The Jamal Murray winner with Anthony Davis falling onto the Nuggets bench was a gut-punching way to lose, but D'Angelo Russell remained optimistic even in defeat. "Next game," Russell said after Game 2. "Next game. Like I said, I like where we're at. We di ..read more

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images Let’s examine why the Lakers lost Game 2 against the Nuggets and why they need to look in the mirror before Game 3. The Los Angeles Lakers found themselves in prime position on Monday night to finally beat the Denver Nuggets. After losing nine straight to them, they could both tie up the series and take home court advantage. The Lakers were up 20 points with a little over nine minutes left and absolutely humming with confidence, while the Nuggets had their heads down and were unsure what had happened. However, after that point, everything changed. The Nuggets cut ..read more

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports Despite both being rumored to return for Game 3, neither Jarred Vanderbilt or Christian Wood will be available on Thursday for the Lakers against the Nuggets. The Lakers will, in fact, not be receiving a boost of returning players for Game 3 after all. After separate reports indicated both Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt were eyeing returns for Thursday’s return to Los Angeles, both players were, instead, listed as out on the Lakers injury report. Wood and Vanderbilt each took part, in a limited capacity, in practice on Wednesday. Status quo on the injury re ..read more

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images Austin Reaves’ offense has been abysmal in this series against Denver and he aims to fix it as the Lakers head home. While the Lakers’ loss to the Nuggets in Game 2 was a brutal ending, there were some positives. Anthony Davis was sensational, LeBron James dominated in certain stretches and D’Angelo Russell had a resurgence with seven 3-pointers. Still, the team fell short and while they can’t dwell on the defeat, some players can improve their performances to help end this ten-game losing streak against Denver. Austin Reaves discussed how he coul ..read more