The win was actually less of a triumph by one of the league's all-time greats than a gift from the Nuggets. And while Denver's generosity didn't induce panic among fans on social media, it definitely stirred plenty of frustration.
Denver's overconfidence was understandable. Coming into Saturday night's tilt in SoCal, the Nugs had put the "L" in L.A. eleven straight times, including four consecutive victories during their march to the championship last year. Moreover, the Colorado crew had overcome halftime leads and double-digit deficits in their previous trio of meetings, leaving the Lakers alternately looking exhausted (the fourth quarter of game one offered a prime example) and enraged (Jamal Murray's game two buzzer beater caused Anthony Davis to engage in the most petulant mic drop ever).
As such, the body language of the collective Nuggets after the opening tip suggested a level of relaxation that was positively post-coital; they reacted to the Lakers taking another sizable lead during the second frame with a decided lack of urgency. At first, their refusal to get physical with Davis and LeBron on the defensive end seemed like a canny strategy to avoid letting the referees place them in foul trouble, as has happened chronically throughout the series. But because this lethargy extended to their offensive production, they went into halftime in a thirteen-point hole.
The Nuggets weren't worried about this scenario, since they'd been able to surmount similar challenges by way of third-period explosions — but not this time. Nikola Jokić had a couple of astonishing passes (his tap to Michael Porter Jr. was a head-shaking delight) and wound up posting another triple-double (33 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists), but he missed a slew of put-backs at the rim that could have narrowed the gap considerably. Moreover, Murray's shooting woes since coming back from a late-season injury continued (he was 9 for 23 en route to 22 points), Aaron Gordon managed only a seven spot, and the bench was flat-out awful, contributing two buckets total.
That might still have been enough to beat L.A. had the Nuggets exhibited the defensive intensity that had saved them in the past. But this time around, they waited far too long to flip the switch, and even after doing so, they allowed James to get to the rim time and time again during the final minutes; he notched 30 points to go along with 25 from A.D. and 22 from D'Angelo Russell, who'd gone scoreless in game three. The result was the sort of basket-trading that leads to unnecessary losses, and that's precisely what happened.
Granted, Denver has been down this road before. Recall that in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, Jokić and company had a chance to sweep the Minnesota Timberwolves but took too long to get serious: They wound up losing in overtime prior to collecting a game-five W in Denver. Nuggets Nation expects a similar outcome on Monday night, when the Lakers return to Ball Arena.
Still, Denver's desultory performance was disappointing in the extreme, and afterward, fans on X didn't hold back, as witnessed by our picks for the twenty most memorable posts — including one wonderful take that somehow conflates the Lakers win with climate change. Thanks for helping to destroy the planet, LeBron!
Number 20:
hilariously bad effort.
— Zac - KRNG Immortal (@WhosImmortal) April 28, 2024
Number 19:
I hope the Nuggets realize that gave this sweep away in the 2nd quarter because they wanted to sleepwalk for 12 minutes.
— Swipa (@SwipaCam) April 28, 2024
Unacceptable.
Number 18:
Lakers hit shots & Denver missed them tbh, lakers fans will say better defense but the nuggets couldn’t buy a bucket.
— Coach Tamru (@ThatguyTamru) April 28, 2024
Basically lakers didn’t choke away another game this time
Number 17:
The Nuggets were lethargic and lazy as hell tonight and didn't go on one significant run either. They didn't want to close anything out tonight lol
— K.C. (@Romaantiq) April 28, 2024
Number 16:
Wow, the Lakers finally decided not to choke away a lead. I wish I had any faith in them to win three more... but I don't.
— Matt Black (@RAWFShowtime) April 28, 2024
Chicken Nuggets in 5.
Number 15:
Michael Malone needs to get some major shit for this loss, allowing that lack of effort is unacceptable #Nuggets
— Jeremy Entwistle (@JerEnt1) April 28, 2024
Number 14:
Nuggets blew a 33/14/14 from Jokic. MPJ has been better than Murray the whole series what in the fuck
— Tyler (@libsofgrindr) April 28, 2024
Number 13:
We just waited too long to wake up. #nuggets #lakers #NBAPlayoffs #MileHighPlayoffs | #Road2Gold pic.twitter.com/r3EIQlg8YK
— Sweet Lou Kaniko (@GreecedLightnin) April 28, 2024
Number 12:
B2b games where the Nuggets let the Lakers score 70+ points in the paint. Someone make a phone call to Malone
— Cruz (@RepMyCityX) April 28, 2024
Number 11:
@nuggets Wake the fuck up for next game
— Michael Bietsch (@MichaelBietsch) April 28, 2024
Number 10:
Conjaculations nuggets! You gave LeBaby fans hope! Take that shit away on monday
— shovel (@CoolBoss1349666) April 28, 2024
Number 9:
no one is worried about this series, we're disgusted with the fuck ass effort the nuggets have had in every single game
— Michael Bietsch (@MichaelBietsch) April 28, 2024
Number 8:
Such a classic lazy Nuggets loss
— Trev (@thats_t__) April 28, 2024
Number 7:
Nuggets chose a little too late in the game to give a damn, if they come out slow again at home they have no shame
— Abel (@AbelGe87) April 28, 2024
Number 6:
Lakers were solid, but the Nuggets were complete shit. Horrible defensively, smoked so many layups, and missed a ton of good looks from 3.
— Luke (@LukeMiles04) April 28, 2024
Number 5:
We’ve outplayed them in 2/4 games. We’ve figured out a few key tactics. We’ve got some confidence now. Nuggets in 5
— Carlos (@CarlosBerkley) April 28, 2024
Number 4:
Nuggets are going to need some help from KCP, Gordon and the bench if they want to make a run. Ugly game..
— (@DaRaiderz4Life) April 28, 2024
Number 3:
nuggets having worst shooting series of their lives this shit is not sustainable im telling you
— relken™️ (@ParsonsWrld) April 28, 2024
Number 2:
And Jokic missing a bunch of bunnies too.. lol.. it really took some epic shit for the lakers to simply sweat out a close win. The Nuggets had a 19 pt deficit down to 7 in 4 minutes and change.. lol.. they just fucked around for too long https://t.co/dWs9PvMMJq
— Roy (@Royonbball) April 28, 2024
Number 1:
lakers are dumb for trying to win
— ᴄʜʀɪꜱᴛoᴘʜᴇʀ ✭ (@hbtc23) April 28, 2024
get swept, stay home, enjoy vacation
now you have to pack all your shit and go back to denver for a series you’re not going to win waste of carbon emissions #nuggets #nba #sucks