The Lakers snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Nuggets with Saturday’s 119-108 win but still enter Monday’s Game 5 on the edge of elimination.
Shiny purple and gold streamers fluttered down from the Crypto.com Arena ceiling on Saturday, not only signifying the Los Angeles Lakers’ 119-108 win over the Denver Nuggets to stay alive in their first-round series, but also L.A.’s first win over Denver in nearly 500 days.
Snapping an 11-game losing streak against the defending champions was certainly a better alternative than heading into the offseason being swept out of the playoffs by the Nuggets for a second straight year.
However, down 3-1 in the series, the Lakers will still enter Monday’s Game 5 on the edge of elimination.
« Well, the only opportunity for us is just to play the next game, » LeBron James said after scoring 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. « And we’ve given ourselves another life. We’ve given ourselves another lifeline, and it’s a one-game series for us. »
No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series. Then again, no team in league history had ever come back from being down 3-1 in the NBA Finals before James’ Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off the feat in 2016 — over a 73-win Golden State Warriors team, no less.
« Monday’s game is the most important game of the season for us, and we understand that and we know that, so it’s that stage where you lose, you’re done, » said James, who now has the most 30-point games in elimination scenarios with 19. « You win and you keep going.
