Nuggets Head to L.A. After Epic Showdown in Denver
Nuggets vs Lakers Spreads, Predictions and More
The Nuggets vs Lakers spreads for Game 3 is Nuggets -1 on the road. Lucky for NBA fans, the NBA schedule tonight features more playoff basketball! Check the NBA rankings because this is one of the best series.
In game one the Lakers had a first-half lead, but Denver controlled the second half easily, winning 114-103. The game featured another Nikola Jokic masterclass and big games from LeBron James and Anthony Davis. For many, D’Angelo Russell’s poor shooting night (1-of-9 from three) was to blame for the Lakers loss.
In game two, the Lakers came out firing early again, taking a double-digit first-half lead, and being up as much as 20 points in the third quarter. They were led on offense by an incredible Anthony Davis performance where he went 14-of-19 for 32 points, and 23 points from D’Angelo Russell who was on fire from range, shooting 7-of-11 from three.
Those performances and a 26-point, 12 assists, and eight rebound games from LeBron had the Lakers in front most of the game. Even so, after a Nuggets comeback and a wide-open go-ahead 3-point attempt from Lebron with 15 seconds left, the Lakers still didn’t have enough to beat the defending champions at home.
The Nuggets overcame the 20-point second-half deficit piece by piece, anchored by a 27-point, 20 rebound, 10-assist triple-double from Nikola Jokic, and incredible late-game heroics from Jamal Murray. Murray had a terrible shooting night (9-of-24 from the field and 0-of-5 from three) but finished strong with 14 fourth-quarter points, and an epic step-back game-winner over Anthony Davis.
In this article, we are going to take what we learned from the first two games, look at Nuggets vs Lakers spreads, and make some basketball picks.
Nuggets @ Lakers
Records: Denver Nuggets (58-25), Los Angeles Lakers (49-36)
Date, Time:
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Stream: TNT, Tru TV
Murray Struggles, Everyone Helps
The Nuggets couldn’t buy a bucket for most of the game Monday night. The amount of in-and-out open threes and easy looks that didn’t fall were adding up. It seemed like the Nuggets were doing everything right but putting the ball in the hoop. Murray was the one exception, until the besides stretch of the game, he was hucking off-balanced shots and looked out of sorts.
Michael Porter Jr. was the Nuggets role player with the biggest offensive impact outside Jokic. MPJ put in 22 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting and 6-of-10 from three. In his last four playoff games against the Lakers, he has no fewer than 19 points and has had eight or more rebounds in those games.
MPJ’s points line for Thursday’s game is set at 17.5 points. He has been covering this in his most recent games against the Lakers. Still, he only averages 15.6 points in road games (17.9 points in home games) this season. We expect Thursday’s game to be another rock fight, and MPJ’s scoring dropping slightly. Look at his points under for a player prop on Thursday. AD Has been the Lakers’ best bet.
Although NBA media may have you thinking otherwise, Anthony Davis has been the best player on the Lakers for years. His ability to have games like this is what decides whether Los Angeles is a contender or not.
Davis has been on a heater lately and has gone over his points total in four of the Lakers’ last five games. He put up 32 points in each of the first two games of this series. We expect the Lakers role players to be a bit more of a factor at home and could see AD taking a slight step back offensively on Thursday. The Lakers will need him to continue to dominate.
LeBron’s Crocodile Tears
Nuggets vs Lakers’ spreads are currently Nuggets -1, total set at 216. The Lakers threw what seemed like their best punch on Monday, and it still wasn’t enough to take down the champs. We have been hammering the Nuggets all series and expect them to get their 11th straight victory against LA on Thursday.
The only thing giving us pause is LeBron’s post-game comments. The Lakers, instead of harping on blowing a 20-point second-half lead, went straight to the media to complain about the refereeing in game two. We have seen this from James before, and when “The King” starts to whine, he usually gets his way. We expect a BIG free throw differential in Thursday’s game (bet on that prop if you can!). But the Nuggets are so good they will overcome that disadvantage.
Nuggets vs Lakers Spreads
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