NBA Basketball Matchup: Nuggets vs Lakers
The Pacific Division-leading Lakers will host the seventh-place Denver Nuggets who are clinging to a 1.5 game lead over the Utah Jazz for the final playoff spot on Friday night in the City of Angles.
Date/Time: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, April 13, 2012
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Broadcast: ALT, FSW
Spread: OFF
Over/Under: OFF
Los Angeles leads the series 2-1, with this Friday rubber match being the first since February 3, when the Lakers’ opened a six-game trip with a 93-89 victory over the Nuggets.
Andrew Bynum had 22 points and 10 rebounds in that game, and Kobe Bryant scored 20 points.
Bynum was 10 of 13 from the field and Bryant shot just 7 of 23 but also had nine assists and six rebounds.
Denver’s Al Harrington had 24 points and eight rebounds for Denver, which at the time had dropped three of four. Andre Miller had 16 points and seven assists and Ty Lawson added 14 points and seven dishes.
The Lakers played solid defense in that game, holding Denver leading scorer Danilo Gallinari to just 1 of 9 for six points, well below his then-average of 17.6 points. He connected on just one of six 3-point attempts. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
LA won a seesaw battle and took the lead with just under four minutes remaining on Metta World Peace’s3-pointer for an 87-83 lead. Harrington made a layup to get Denver to 87-85 but Bryant sank two free throws.
After another exchange of points, Denver got one last chance with 11 seconds left but Harrington’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim.
Neither team shot well from 3-point range, with the Nuggets finishing just 5 of 22 and the Lakers 4 of 13.
Both teams will be coming off a least a day’s rest with the Nuggets wining four of their last seven and LA winning six of its last eight including two straight, without the team’s superstar-Kobe Bryant
Bryant has averaged 17.7 points while shooting 27.5 percent (19 for 69) against Denver this season, but is unlikely to play in Friday’s match up.
Free Pick: Los Angeles- All the Nuggets Lakers game this season have been tight contests and I expect that trend to continue. Unfortunately, I just don’t see how Denver stacks up against the Gasol/Bynum duo in this one.
