LOS ANGELES — Death came for the Los Angeles Lakers by 1,000 off-ball cuts and what seemed like 100 Aaron Gordon dunks during another effortless Denver Nuggets onslaught.
Good basketball teams can turn a 10-point deficit into a 10-point lead within minutes; great ones can do it without breaking a sweat or pausing to celebrate. At full strength, Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Nuggets are great. So great they had Lakers star LeBron James turning his palms to the sky in a futile search for answers Thursday night during the decisive third quarter. So great they had rappers Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne heading for the exits by the middle of the fourth.
