This recap is not going to get the attention it deserves. It's my buddy's birthday today … Mr. Duckworth … Captain Quackers and I'm going to be heading out shortly to go celebrate. It's tough to celebrate after a loss, but the Nuggets are still just 3 wins away from winning this series and can still win this thing. Last night was not a must win … it would have been nice, but it wasn't a necessity (but obviously some wins must start coming from here out.)
Live by the three … die by the three. 5-27 … 18.5%. The Nuggets chose to keep launching threes and went away from attacking the rim last night and it cost them the game. Melo, J.R., and Billups combined to go 5-24 from distance. I was hoping at some point that Denver would get back to attacking, but it just never happened.
The Lakers did what they needed to do and hung around the entire game until it was time to make a move. L.A. found themselves down 79-71 going into the deciding quarter and they outscored Denver 32-18 to finish the game.
Denver only gave up one 30 point quarter last night, but it was in the crucial fourth. Every one of these games has come down to execution in the final minutes and the Lakers deserve the 2-1 lead as they have out-executed Denver in two of the three final periods.
