LeBron James had 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists, while Anthony Davis had 33 points and 15 rebounds, but Los Angeles was disappointed with his shooting from the field. Lakers now trail Nuggets 0-3
Aaron Gordon scored a career-high 29 points in the playoffs and added 15 rebounds, while Nikola Jokic was just short of a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as Denver earned a 112-105 victory.
After blowing a big lead in Game 2, the Lakers failed to respond at home as the Nuggets began the second half with a 24-10 run to pull away from their hosts. Los Angeles couldn’t get any closer than eight points in the fourth.
LeBron James had 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists, while Anthony Davis had 33 points and 15 rebounds, but Los Angeles was disappointed with his shooting from the field.
They shot just 5 of 27 from the floor, missing 15 of their first 16 3-point attempts.
Game 4 is Saturday at Crypto.com Arena, with the Lakers expected to become the first team in NBA history to recover from an 0-3 playoff deficit to keep James’ 21st season alive .
A small group of home fans showed their displeasure with head coach Darvin Ham after the loss, staying behind to chant “fire Darvin” as the rest of the crowd filtered out.
Embiid’s half-century brings Knicks-Sixers to 2-1
Joel EmbiidThe huge 50 point loot breathed new life into the Philadelphia 76ers‘ series with the New York Knicks, dropping the Sixers to 2-1 after two road losses to start the playoffs.
The 76ers triumphed 125-114 as Embiid became the first player in playoff history to score 50 points on fewer than 20 shots in a game, making 13 of 19 free throws and 19 of 21 free throws.
Philadelphia trailed three times at halftime but produced a huge third quarter, with Embiid driving his team into a 98-85 lead with four 3s in that span.
Tyrese Maxey backed Embiid with 25 points and seven assists, after the NBA admitted officials missed a foul on him in the closing stages of the Sixers’ controversial Game 2 loss.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 39 points and 13 assists while Josh Hart scored 20 points, but Donte DiVincenzo only had five after hitting the game-clinching 3-pointer in Game 2.
Cavs suffer worst playoff loss as Magic fights back
The Orlando Magic also fought back after losing the first two games of their first round series, handing out the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday, the heaviest defeat in their playoff history.
Bringing the series back to the Kia Center after two road losses, Orlando posted a 121-83 victory behind Paolo Banchero’s 31 points, with Jalen Suggs adding 24 for the fifth seed in the East.
Orlando led by 43 points in the fourth quarter before settling for a 38-point margin. The Cavs’ worst playoff loss was a 36-point loss to the Washington Wizards in 2008.
Franz Wagner had 16 points and eight assists for Orlando, which now has a chance to even the series at home in Game 4 on Sunday.
Cleveland had four players in double figures, but none managed more than the 15 put up by Jarrett Allen and Caris Levert, with the visitors shooting a miserable 8 of 34 (23.5 percent) from the floor.
