NBA Playoffs Basketball Matchup: Nuggets vs Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers will aim to close out their first round playoff series at home with a win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Date/Time: 10:30 PM ET, Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Broadcast: TNT, Fox Sports West
Spread: Lakers -5.5
Over/Under: 198.5
This puts the Nuggets in a must win three-straight situation in the best-of-seven series, not impossible, but highly unlikely as Denver has trailed 3-1 in a playoffs series on 10 occasions, but has lost all 10.
Denver has fought hard so far in the series, an after a poor showing in Game 4, found a way to tie the game with just a little over a minute to play.
The Lakers shut down the regular season high-scoring Nuggets quick transition game that had bagged them a lot of points in Game 3, forcing them to beat LA straight up.
The Nuggets just weren’t able to match the Lakers’ scoring , as point guard Ty Lawson was limited to 11 points after back-to-back 25-point outings.
The good news for Denver as they stand on the brink of elimination is that Danilo Gallinari finally broke out of his slump with a series-high 20 points in Game 4.
However, Denver received only a combined 18 points from starters Arron Afflalo, Kenneth Faried and Timofey Mozgov. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
A much different scenario than a Lakers team that not only got production our their starters, but also from their reserves who stepped up big time on Sunday.
Steve Blake scored eight of his 10 points in the final quarter, including the eventual game-winning 3-pointer with 18.9 seconds remaining.
Forward Jordan Hill added 12 points and 11 boards, marking the third time in the series he has reached double figures in rebounds.
Add into the mix Kobe Bryant, who erupted for 69 points in the first two games of the series, and even thought he struggled in Denver putting up just 22 points in each game, will be happy to return to the Staples Center to delight fans with what will no doubt be another dazzling performance.
Free Pick : Los Angeles- The Lakers are just too big for the Nuggies, and if LA moves the basketball and gets it inside, playing both inside and out. Lakers close this one out at home in dramatic fashion.
