LOS ANGELES Three teenage Lakers supporters stood in a corner of the lower bowl of Crypto.com Arena during a break in the middle of the third quarter on Saturday, each holding up a different sign. It said, “PLEASE PLAY HARD.” The Lakers’ plea made sense, given that they were up against both their past and the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets, who had defeated Los Angeles 11 times in a row and were only one win away from eliminating them from the postseason for a second straight season.
However, that is the nature of sports: you can never be sure what will happen. And this night would prove to be as unexpected as it was bizarre. Who could have imagined, after all, that superstar Jamal Murray of the Nuggets would pull off his best poor Russell impression or that Los Angeles guard D’Angelo Russell would go from being reviled to being magnificent? The Lakers defeated the Nuggets 119-108 on this particular night, demonstrating their ability to play hard and win. This forced a Game 5 in their first-round playoff series. LeBron James declared, “We’ve given ourselves another life,” following his 30 point performance, which included 14 in the fourth quarter. “We’ve provided ourselves with an additional buffer, and this is a one-game series for us.”
After a disappointing defeat to the Nuggets the previous two nights, it would have been simple for Russell and the Lakers to make travel arrangements. In addition to being on the verge of postseason elimination, Russell had not scored in twenty-four minutes, and the Lakers had crumbled in the second half of the game for the third straight game in this series. They were now facing history, an undefeated opponent. Never before has a losing NBA team come back to win a best-of-seven series. Of those that tried, 151 have not succeeded. As early as Monday night, the Lakers, Suns, and Pelicans may all add to that list. If one thinks Russell can go on, Saturday night was everything but a postponement of what was bound to happen.
This was probably the Lakers’ final stand, regardless of what they stated afterwards, even if they adhered to the one-game-at-a-time philosophy. More than a sincere belief that they went from 11 straight losses to 4 straight wins versus the Nuggets, the game was about respect. It’s easy to trust James and Anthony Davis, who finished with 25 points and 23 rebounds. In the series, they have excelled. What’s wrong is the supporting cast.
Was this night’s group good enough? Indeed. Twice a day, however, a broken clock is right. Getting the role players to step up on a regular basis is the difficult part. The Lakers can play with anyone when they do. We’ve seen that on Saturday and other times throughout the series. The truth is that without Russell’s crucial plays in the second half, particularly halfway through the fourth quarter, the Lakers would not win Game 4. He stopped the Nuggets from making one of their trademark late runs with a layup, an assist to James for a dunk, an offensive rebound that was tipped to Davis for a layup, and a three-pointer of his own. He contributed to four straight scores as
Austin Reaves, a guard with the Lakers, remarked, “He was amazing.” One of his famous runs was when he scored two or three rapid baskets, which made the run feel like a 12-0 score. Simply because of the type of basketball he plays, our success dependsed on his performing at the top of his game. And that’s what he did tonight. A guy like him deserves your hat tip. After Game 3, the world is destroying him because of his performance. You guys should simply go fold and let all that distract you; it’s probably more easier than you think. However, he didn’t. It only demonstrates how much we depend on him. Russell has been plagued by immaturity for a large portion of his career. It is one
Several players said they did not focus on Game 4 being an elimination game because everyone knew the reality of the situation. Instead, they did as coach Darvin Ham suggested — they leaned into the opportunity to compete and the joy of playing loose and free.
“Everything that we’ve been through as a team, on the court, off the court, we deserve tonight,” Ham said. “We’ve just got to bottle it up and really keep it pushing and really understand that, it can be our time. Why not us?”
The answer could come Monday night in Denver.
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