The Lakers got off to a great start, but from there Friday's game turned into a slugfest. In the end, though, they came out on top, effectively saving the season and giving them a chance to knot up the series Saturday night.
There is a popular saying that a series doesn't really begin until the home team loses. History, however, says that when the home team holds serve in the first two games, the series is over. Courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information, teams up 2-0 have won 94.
Sometimes with a night's rest, the dawn of a new morning, and the opportunity for some fresh perspective, in the rear view mirror a game can look a little different. Sometimes. Game 2 Wednesday in Oklahoma City doesn't qualify.
Put away the brooms, Lakers fans! Visions of a sweep are officially dead. The Nuggets got out to an early lead Friday night in Denver, and parlayed that hot start into a 99-84 win. As has been the case in all three games, Denver crushed on the offensive glass, and rebounding was probably the single biggest reason the hosts controlled the game from nearly start to finish.
Ninety-eight have tried, 98 have failed. If the Lakers are to be the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series, the comeback will start this afternoon in Game 4. The team can find motivation from a variety of sources.
The playoffs have been incredibly unkind to Pau Gasol, and the offseason is unlikely to be any different. But while he hasn't been able to formulate any sort of explanation for his decline, Saturday afternoon on the floor of the practice court at American Airlines Center, Gasol took the opportunity to address one supposition currently sweeping the web.
Friday night's loss didn't come for want of want. Recognizing their season on the line, the Lakers poured everything they had into Game 3, on the floor and on the bench, and lost anyway. There was another blown lead fueled by offensive breakdowns in the fourth quarter and blown defensive rotations they'll lament deep into the summer, but blame the flesh, not the spirit.
"I might be sick in the head or crazy, because I think we're still going to win the series. I might be nuts." No, Kobe Bryant, you're none of those things (well, maybe nuts), but you're also extremely unlikely to be proven correct.
The Lakers are required by NBA statue to submit an expected starting lineup early on game days, and the name currently listed in the game notes to replace the suspended Ron Artest is Shannon Brown, with Kobe Bryant sliding to the small forward spot.
In news that didn't require Nostradmus' services to predict, Ron Artest has officially been suspended for Friday's Game 3 in Dallas. The offending sequence, which took place with 24.4 seconds remaining in the game, featured Artest swinging his arm to basically clothesline Jose Barea.
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