Ty Lawson stars as Denver Nuggets thrash Los Angeles Lakers; Take the series to a decider: NBA Playoffs Recap
The Denver Nuggets stunned the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night by dominating them in a 113-96 victory here at the Pepsi Center. The victory tied the first round playoff series at 3-3 and forced a game 7 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The Nuggets came out with a purpose and did not let the Lakers into the game at any moment. Kobe Bryant played the game with a sour stomach that prevented him from participating in the team morning shoot out and practice. He, however, still managed to score 31 points for the night, but was obviously not his explosive self, particularly on the defensive end.
Ty Lawson of the Nuggets had one of the biggest games of his career, scoring a personal playoff high 32 points from 13 of 18 shooting from the field, including five treys on six attempts.
Denver opened the game with a bang, sprinting to 13-0 run, and not allowing the Lakers to score a basket till Kobe Bryant made a jumper with 8:25 left in the first period. The Nuggets started their scoring with 2 three pointers, one by Ty Lawson followed by another one by Danilo Gallinari.
Another three by Lawson, had the Nuggets up 23-8 with 6:28 left in the period. Denver led 54-45 at halftime.
The Nuggets carried their momentum into the 2nd half and opened the third period with a 13-3 run to lead the Lakers 67-48. They maintained that position for all of the period and led by 90-68 going into the final quarter.
Corey Brewer scored the first 11 Denver points of the final period to give them a decisive 101-73 lead. The Lakers seemed lost on defense and had no answer for the Denver offense that was pushing them to the limit.
Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had poor offensive nights and Kobe alone could not keep the Lakers alive in the matchup. Bryant sat out for the last 7:52 minutes of the game and Denver won 113-96. Pau Gasol was 1 of 10 from the field to score only 3 points and managed only 3 rebounds. Andrew Bynum finished the game with 11 points and 16 rebounds. Ramon Sessions had 14 points for the night.
Ty Lawson had 6 assists and 5 rebounds to go with his 32 points. Corey Brewer came off the bench to add 18 points while Andre Miller and Danilo Gallinari had 12 for the night. Kenneth Faried added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Nuggets shot 51.6% from the field and an incredible 50% from beyond the arc. They were however ordinary from the foul line, scoring on 9 of 17 attempts. The Lakers, on the other hand, went 42.2% from the field and 28.6% from the three point line.
After this defeat, the Nuggets have emerged as the favourites to take the series. The Lakers will have to regroup quickly and their bigs need to focus more on defence. The one good thing for them is that Metta World Peace served the final game of his seven-game suspension tonight and will be available for game-7.
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