#1 NUGGETS at #7 LAKERS | FULL GAME 3 HIGHLIGHTS | May 20, 2023

To not see is a tremendous effort by the Lakers to start this game. Denver has to be ready to hold the fort. Davis had a terrific game one, and up and down game two to say the least. Russell trying to get on track, knocks that one down, and that is a great sign for the Lakers and for Russell. Murray, a good look, and Murray starts off two for two. But the transition defense is letting the Lakers down. You've got to be able to get back, get matched, and make them play in the half court. Russell searching, finds Davis, Davis with a nice soft touch on his floater for his first bucket. James kicks it out, Reeves. Reeves inside, pass deflected, comes right back to him, keeps his dribble alive. Beautiful setup from Reeves. Badly misses the first two here tonight. Vanderbilt, his shot will go, Davis right there to clean it up. An aggressive Anthony Davis to start. But then in game two, just 4 of 15 from the field, had as many turnovers as field goals. Flat pass stolen by Caldwell-Polk, and Murray goes in and lays it up and in. Almost got it back. Murray, step back inside the arc, and Murray. Vanderbilt, an excellent defender, trying to harass Murray. So far, no luck. 5 for 5 is Jamal Murray. He's got 11 of their 15 points. Kicks it out, Reeves. Reeves, right corner three. They're 1 of 5 from downtown. 4 for 14 overall. Gordon, out to Porter. Porter, a three-pointer, got it. Dennis Schroeder has come off of the Lakers. Schroeder also a good defender. Pass inside, finds its way to Brown. Gordon, a three-pointer. That's good. Gordon knocks it down. Hachimura in for the Lakers. He's been a good offensive player for them. Misses his first shot. Jokic rebound, and leading the break. Gordon goes down low. Stops, gathers, and banks it in again. Another fast-break opportunity. Good minutes from their bench right now. Murray and Jokic round out the 5. Nice up and under, and Murray banks it home. Nuggets have hit their first six free throws. Back up to 14. Lonnie Walker, the fourth in the game. James gets in the paint. Shot is good. The smaller Nuggets. Well-designed play. Force-feeding LeBron to that spot. Murray. Again, Jamal Murray. 15 points here in the first quarter. He's only missed one shot. Teams are shooting 38% for them against them in these playoffs. The Nuggets having their way reasonably well. Having his way going to the basket. Who won tickets to her show in Vegas, and they are so hard to come by. We need to get a hookup from Rich, Paul, and Adele. Breach. Meanwhile, Jamal Murray continues his streak. Jokic tries a three. That's good. James, alley-oop to David. Murray looks to answer, and does. Jamal Murray drills another. He's got 23 points in 14 minutes. Nearly lost it. Davis is on him, and Murray's going to reset. Now fires away another three. Puts it in. Jamal Murray's got 26. Some more Murray magic here in the first half of game three. Davis caught up by Gordon. Davis using his size and scoring. Crowd wanted a foul. Here comes Murray. Behind the back. In the paint. Leans in. Shot is good. 30 points in the first half for Murray. Murray does a good job staying with him. Trying to play him physical. Jokic misses again. Here's James ahead of steam. Drives down the lane. I don't know if we can't stop them all together, but just try to make it as difficult as possible. Again, show multiple efforts on them. All right, Lisa. Call ball. Knocks down a three. Never won it the first two games, but the Lakers an excellent job in the first half. And by starting Vanderbilt, it allows, as Davis hits that, it allows Jokic with three fouls to guard Vanderbilt. Jokic has three fouls. Davis spins and scores. 21 points, 13 rebounds for Davis. Grabs a rebound. Here comes James. James to Vanderbilt for the stuff. Lakers back within three. The idea that they have nothing to do with the game, it's absurd. And it's heightened, obviously, here in the playoffs as Porter catches, fires, and hits. Michael Porter. Hachibor has come in for the Lakers. Reeves left open. Sets, fires, and hits. Wants timeout. Bad pass outside from Russell. Caldwell popped the steal. Again, coming off thick and fast. Throws it to Brown. Lays it up and in. Gorgeous pass from Murray. Big numbers for Anthony Davis. 11 to the 26 here in the third. Back to a two-point lead for Denver. Murray drives. Davis got a piece of it. Gordon the rebound. Back out green. Porter sets. That three-pointer, that's good. Schroeder fighting around, fighting through screens, chasing Murray. Back to Caldwell-Polk. Walker closes out. Contested three. Caldwell-Polk knocks down another. Schroeder to Walker. Back up top. James tries a three. Got him. Schroeder telling James to cut to the basket. Gets it back. He's going to try again. Back to back. James tries another three. That's two that have rattled in and out. The last two after he hit a couple. Porter drives down a lane. Finds Jokic. Boy, nice look from Porter. That's his fourth assist. Louie Hachimora drives up top. Pull-up jumper. Got him. Offensively and his timely shots, but his outstanding defense against the Joker. Jokic spins. Count it and one. He doesn't get in the ballgame. Caldwell-Polk misses. Reeves with his seventh rebound. Ahead to James. James gets in the lane. Running layup. And a chance to tie the game at the free throw line. Seven of his 16 in the first four minutes. Alley up inside to Davis. Murray just too small on a perfect pass from LeBron James. Up top to Brown. Thought about it. Back to Murray. Shooter fell down. Murray three-pointer. Puts it in. Jamal Murray, part of a 9-0 run. He's got 33. That's his first points of the second half. Fans nervous right now here in L.A. Lakers down by 10. Under five to play. Jokic, beautiful pass. Lays it up and in. In the fourth quarter of game two in Denver, that's the same shot. A cushion given. He takes it and makes it. Jokic answers back with a three-pointer. Nikola Jokic, 14 fourth-quarter points. Under three minutes remaining. Going right back to the two-man game. Murray inside. Double-team spins. Flips it up and in. Jamal Murray with a couple of buckets here in the fourth. Jokic off the dribble. Spins into the paint. Kicks it out. Porter. Puts it in. Porter knocks it down. And that makes it 117-103. Disappointing crowd, obviously. Lakers heading for the locker room. And Denver is one win away from Nuggets history. Their magical season continues. They take the 3-0 lead here in these conference finals.