Nuggets vs Lakers Odds: Lakers Staring at Elimination for Game 4

Betting Odds Favor Lakers to Save Season

The Los Angeles Lakers are down 0-3 in the Western Conference Finals and are thus playing for their playoff lives. The Nuggets vs Lakers odds favor them to beat Denver to extend the series for at least one more game. But thus far, underdogs have commanded the series with all three covering their respective spreads. Will it be a fourth straight or will the Lakers hold steady as the favorite?

Nuggets are Undeniable

You could not have asked for more from the Denver Nuggets. The team overcame some questionable refereeing and a slow start from Nikola Jokic to topple the Lakers. The two-time MVP struggled with foul trouble and scored just three points in the first half. In fact, he went scoreless in the first period and Denver still put up a double-digit lead over the home team.

Thank Jamal Murray as he continued his playoff heroics with a 30-point first-half on 13-of-20 shooting. Murray nearly outscored the Lakers in the first quarter and kept Denver in it. But as he cooled off, Jokic took over and scored 15 of his 24 points in the final quarter as Denver won 119-108 to defy the Nuggets vs Lakers odds.

“You’re not going to keep Nikola Jokic down the whole game,” Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said via Mike Singer of the Denver Post. “The end of the game, him and Jamal were out there playing the two-man game. I have to give credit where credit is due: that was Nikola’s call. He said on the bench, ‘Let’s go to this play. Let me and Jamal play whole side of the floor and we’ll make the right reads.’ And we milked that down the stretch.”

Up 3-0 in the series, it’s a foregone conclusion that Denver wins the series. It will be a historic moment for the franchise that has yet to reach the NBA Finals. Denver clinched the top seed as the best team in the NBA standings and are proving it is more than capable of winning on the road as well.

Denver improved to 11-8 against the spread (ATS) as a road underdog with its win on Sunday. The team is also 3-3 as a visitor this postseason. Now, it will need to play matador to a desperate host for Game 4.

“Same Old” For Exasperated Lakers

If the Lakers are to defy NBA history, they will need to do something differently than the last three games. For one, the trio of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves can’t be the only difference maker. They scored 74 of the Lakers’ 108 points. The rest of the team shot a combined 12-of-37 from the field.

D’Angelo Russell continues to struggle as he went 1-of-8 for three points. The former All-Star entered the series averaging 15.7 points and making 2.1 3s on 44.5 percent shooting. This series he’s been held to seven points with a 29.6 field goal percentage.

His poor play contributed to the Lakers’ first home loss in the NBA playoffs. It was also the first time the Lakers lost as a favorite since Game 2 against Memphis. Fans turned on him in both the arena and on social media as morale around the team is at an all-time low.

Still, as coach Darvin Ham said, the team is not out yet. The Lakers will need to take it one game at a time beginning with this one on Monday. The Nuggets vs Lakers odds favor the team by 3.5 points (-155 on the moneyline). The team is 3-1 ATS when favored by 3.5 points or fewer this postseason.

The Lakers need to shore up their defense again. The team is 3-1 in the last four games their total went under. With that one loss, which came to Denver, the Lakers still covered the spread. At 224.5 points, Los Angeles will need to keep Denver muted as its limited offense will not be sufficient to save the team.

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