NBA Playoff 2008 洛杉磯湖人 VS 丹佛金塊 (Game3) ( 第2節)

Aftermath:
There was a significant amount of delighted fans in the crowd at the Pepsi Center at the end of the game on Saturday, only they weren't cheering for the Nuggets.

Kobe Bryant has game, will travel and gets "MVP! MVP!" chants even when he's on the road.

Bryant played well (22 points, seven rebounds, eights assists) but not spectacularly.

While the Lakers fans serenaded their star regardless whether his performance on this particular day was up to MVP-caliber or not, the Nuggets fans were left silent and that eerie lack of support sounded like a rousing "LVT! LVT!" chant to me.

Least Valuable Team.

Marv Albert called the showing by the home team an "embarassment", and it was.

Carmelo Anthony was 5-for-22 and added another technical foul to the growing collection the Nuggets have this postseason - perhaps the only statistical category where they're outperforming the Lakers.

Allen Iverson was 5-for-16 and didn't even play for the last six minutes of the fourth quarter as George Karl pulled him and waved the white flag for the game, and maybe for the series.

The rest of the Nuggets team played OK for the first half, but any stats they put up once the Lakers pushed their lead back to 17 in the third quarter were really empty.

Meanwhile, L.A. had four players other than Kobe reach double-digit scoring and two others who totalled nine points apiece. Gasol was efficient again, Luke Walton continued to be a difference maker and Derek Fisher stomped out Denver's short-lived comeback in the third quarter by hitting two huge 3-pointers.

It looked like a No.1 seeded team against a No. 8 seeded collection. The series isn't technically over, but it sure feels that way. If these Nuggets are going to win Games 4-7, they will have to put together as dramatic an upset as the last time the franchise advanced past the first round (Mutombo and the gang vs. Seattle in 1994). It's a tall order, to say the least. Game 4 is on Monday (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT). We'll see if it's a Denver turnaround or a Lakers continuation.

My guess is the latter.

Game 3 Final: Lakers 102, Nuggets 84

It’s been so bad of a blowout that I’ve spent the last 30 minutes having IM conversations about whether the Nuggets are going to dismantle this unit in the offseason. Do they look to trade Melo or A.I.? Is George Karl the right coach? Is there anyway Boston will depart with KG after a year and have him come in and teach these guys how to play D?

Pretty much all you need to know: The three guys on the cover of the Nuggets 2007-08 Media Guide (Iverson, Anthony and Camby) combined to score just 30 points on 10-for-40 shooting. The trio averaged 61.2 points during the regular season.

Things you notice in a 20-point blowout: Ronny Turiaf lost 10 pounds from tonsillitis; The Lakers fans who made the trip to Denver were louder than the hometown Nuggets supporters; Anthony Carter sort of looks like Kenny Smith – only with tattoos; no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series and advanced.

End of Third Quarter: Lakers 83, Nuggets 64

Kobe came out of the locker room gunning. He his three of this first four shots to boost the Lakers’ lead to 11 and cause Denver to burn an early timeout.

Not to hate on the Nuggets too much, but is this really a team that went 33-8 at home? The fans are stagnant, the defense is listless, the players seem lackadaisical and were reportedly watching the NFL Draft before the game. I thought today would be a much closer contest.

Just when it looked like Denver was out of it, they went on an 8-0 run by switching to zone on the defensive end and just making shots on offense. Martin made up from his earlier transgressions by imploring the crowd to get into it and it seemed to be working as the Nuggets were feeding off the extra energy. Still, the Lakers lead by 10 because their lead had ballooned to 18.

Just like that, the wheels fell off. Fisher hit two threes, a layup and a technical foul shot after Melo was T’d up, Bryant leaked out and scored on an outlet pass generated layup and the Lakers were up 17 again.

It’s not like the Lakers are playing all that spectacularly – Gasol didn’t even make a shot in the third – they’re just playing as a team with different guys stepping up. The Nuggets are just shooting themselves in the foot, holding on to the results of past failed possessions and letting their collective frustration dictate how they play.

Halftime: Lakers 53, Nuggets 46

The action got going pretty quickly in the second quarter with a few things you don’t see all the time: The Lakers needing to call an early timeout within the first minute of the quarter, D.J. Mbenga being called for a five-second call on the inbounds and Sasha Vujacic getting two free throws after taking an Eddie Najera elbow to the throat – Najera was called for a Flagrant 1 foul.

Despite the flagrant foul, Najera has been huge. He knocked down an open three, finished a fastbreak with a reverse layup and drew an offensive foul on Lamar Odom.

The Lakers bench held down the fort quite ably while Bryant started the quarter on the bench. Mbenga, Walton, Farmar and Vujacic combined for 16 points in the quarter.

Carmelo hit a straight-away open three from the top of the key that Denver fans were hoping would get him going, but it turned out to be one of just two made field goals for him in the game so far. He’s 2-for-10.

L.A. is shooting a paltry 10-for-17 from the line, but at least it’s getting to the charity stripe more. Denver is only 6-for-8 on freebies.

Gasol has been great on offense (13 points, 5-for-7 shootiing, four assists) but he only has one rebound and the Nuggets have a +5 advantage on the glass.

It’s not an ugly game, but it’s certainly not as pretty as Games 1 and 2. Kobe is 3-for-8 for eight points, Iverson is 3-for-11 for 10 points and everybody seems just a little off. Maybe it’s the 3:30 local tip-off time. Most of these guys are napping on a game day at 3:30.

End of First Quarter: Lakers 23, Nuggets 20

When Kobe starts into his shooting motion from midrange, he’s often looking to get to the peak of his elevation and dump the ball down low with a two-handed pass.

You think Denver wants this possession back? Camby gets the defensive rebound, pushes the ball up the court (instead of making an outlet pass to a guard), passes the ball to Kenyon Martin standing on the wing 20 feet from the basket as soon as he passes the half line, Martin shoots it immediately and misses. The Nuggets can get much better looks than that.

The Lakers had assists on all nine of their nine made baskets and Kobe racked up six of those dimes. For all of Denver’s talk about stepping up their defense, L.A. is still getting open jumpers just by making a few passes.

Kobe’s three L’s for his pregame warm-up: Lengthening, Limbering and Loosening. Good thing that that “LFO” on the iPod isn’t one of them. Nor “licorice” as a snack, either. I hate licorice.

Iverson and Anthony have a combined four points on 2-for-12 shooting, but their team is still only down by three. If they start hitting their shots, the Lakers better watch out. On the other hand, Kobe is just 1-for-5 which isn’t likely to stay that way.

Gasol has eight points on 4-for-6 shooting to lead L.A. Martin has eight points to lead Denver and has been very active, also picking up two boards and an assist.

Kobe and Martin both have two fouls. Phil Jackson and George Karl will earn their paychecks making their substitutions today.