Lakers' Austin Reaves on 3-0 Deficit vs. Nuggets: 'Got to Man Up and Go Win Games'
April 26, 2024
With the Los Angeles Lakers on the brink of being swept out of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets for the second consecutive season, Austin Reaves isn't making any excuses for what needs to get his team back in the series.
After Thursday's 112-105 loss in Game 3, Reaves told reporters the Lakers "got to man up and go win games."
Los Angeles has been able to keep things competitive in every game against the Nuggets. Head coach Darvin Ham's team has led by at least 10 points in each of the first three games.
The problem is the Lakers have been unable to sustain their strong first-half performances for an entire game, while the Nuggets are dominating in the second half.
Denver is averaging 59 points and outscoring the Lakers by 14 points per game in the second half through the first three games of the series.
Reaves, who was one of the bright spots for the Lakers in last year's Western Conference Finals, has struggled against the Nuggets this time around. He ranks third on the team with 14.7 points per game but is only shooting 31.3 percent from three-point range.
If the Lakers want to have any hope of winning a game, let alone pulling off a historic 3-0 series comeback, their role players have to give more support to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Los Angeles' star duo is averaging a combined 58.6 points on 59.2 percent shooting, 20.0 rebounds and 13.0 assists per game. The non-Davis and James starters (Reaves, D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura) are shooting 40.4 percent from the field and 15-of-48 from behind the arc.
The Lakers will attempt to snap their 11-game losing streak to the Nuggets on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. They will host Game 4 of the Western Conference first-round series at Crypto.com.