The Los Angeles Lakers snapped a long, embarrassing streak of losses to the Denver Nuggets last night with a 119-108 victory, the Lakers’ first against Nikola Jokic and Denver since December 2022. But there is another stat from the two teams’ first-round playoff series that could give a bit of hope to L.A. fans.
Despite trailing the series 3-1, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Co. have led the Nuggets for 71% of the series. Of course, that perfectly illustrates some of the issues the Lakers have had, considering L.A. has not only led but held double-digit advantages in each of the first four games of the series. This hasn’t, aside from Game 4, stopped the Nuggets from storming back and shutting down the Lakers in the fourth quarter, though.
But the fact that the Lakers have not been utterly dominated — like the Phoenix Suns through the first three games of their series vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves — could give Laker Nation something to cling to as the series shifts back to Denver. And it’s not entirely foolish, as the Lakers have been just as competitive with the Nuggets over their last two playoff series than any team in the NBA has, despite the 1-7 record in that time.
Has a team ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit in the NBA Playoffs?
Although many teams have fallen behind 3-0 in the NBA Playoffs, none have ever successfully come back to win the series. In fact, of the more than 150 instances in which one team has trailed another 3-0 in a series, only four have managed to even force a Game 7.
The most recent example of this is actually very recent; after losing the first three games of the series, the Boston Celtics won three straight to force a Game 7 on their home court (the first time in NBA history for that) against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. But even the home-court advantage was not enough to make history, as the Heat won and advanced to the NBA Finals, where they met and were dispatched by the Denver Nuggets.
That is why history is certainly not on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ side. Leading more than two-thirds of the series is certainly impressive, especially so considering it’s against the best player in the NBA and the defending NBA champions, but the Lakers’ second-half woes are concerning.
Through the first four games of this series, the Lakers have led at halftime of each game, outscoring the Nuggets 233-198 in the first half. However, as the saying goes, it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. And Denver has finished exceptionally well.
Despite trailing at the half of all four games, the Nuggets have outscored the Lakers in the second half of every game in this series, and in three games, completely erased the halftime deficit to pull out a win. In total, the Nuggets have outscored the Lakers 237-193 in the second half.
But if fans believe the Lakers can pull off the unprecedented comeback, there’s at least one more good reason to think it could happen: LeBron James. As part of the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron famously led the Cavs to an NBA championship in 2016 despite trailing 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers became the first and only team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.
James is obviously older and has slowed down from his 2016 form, though, and with how lethal Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have been in the clutch, it seems almost impossible that the Lakers could make history in this series.
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