The energy at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night was palpable. You could cut the anxiety and tension with a knife. Highlights of the 2004 Boston Red Sox and 2014 Los Angeles Kings played in the arena to provide hope for a packed house.
The commonality between those two teams is that they both overcame 0-3 playoff deficits en route to winning a championship.
For the second straight season, the Los Angeles Lakers were in danger of being swept out of the NBA Playoffs at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, but this time they flipped the script.
LeBron James scored 30 points, Anthony Davis had 25 points with 23 rebounds, and the Lakers staved off elimination with a thrilling 119-108 win in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against the defending champion Nuggets.
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"It was just a feeling in the room. Starting yesterday in the film session. It's tough to get swept. Nobody wanted that feeling. Especially going into the summer," said Davis of not wanting to get swept by the Nuggets for the second straight postseason. "We didn't really talk about it, but we no what's at stake. The way we played tonight is the way we have to play the rest of the series."
The victory means the Lakers will live to fight another day, and snapped an 11-game losing streak to the reigning champions that lasted 498 total days.
"It's a beautiful thing to finally get a win against this team," said Lakers' head coach Darvin Ham. "Now that we've finally quote-on-quote ''cracked the code' we still have to understand that this is a championship ball club we're facing. We're about to go to their house…now we have to take it up even more notches."
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The Lakers entered the fourth quarter clinging to an 11-point lead but managed to withstand wave after wave of the Nuggets attempt to rally. LeBron James closed out the game for Los Angeles, scoring 14 huge fourth-quarter points.
"Even though they out-scored us by two, we scored with them," said James of the third quarter. "That definitely helped us in the fourth, and my mindset was to close it out. I was able to make plays, and we were able to do that."
The Lakers never trailed in the game. For the fourth consecutive game they out-scored the Nuggets in the first quarter and took a lead into the locker room at halftime.
However, through the first three games of the series, the third quarter has been the Lakers' Achilles heel. Whether it's lack of adjustments, energy, or simply exhaustion, the Lakers had been out-scored in the third period of the first three games by a total of 91 to 60.
Thankfully, that narrative changed in Game 4. The Lakers came out of the locker room with energy, effort, and desperation. Facing elimination, they took every Denver punch, and instead of getting knocked out—they punched back!
Each and every time the Nuggets came down and hit a big shot, or went on a run, the Lakers responded right back. They maintained their double-digit lead into the final frame despite losing the third quarter again, 32-30.
"We've been talking about. Especially coming into the 3rd quarter with some energy," said James of the third quarter. "We talked about it again tonight, and we fixed it. You can't just talk about it, you have to be about it, and tonight we did that."
For the first time all series, the Lakers bent, but didn't break. That resiliency and fighter's spirit now needs to travel with them back to the Mile High state, where oxygen can come at a premium at high altitudes, especially late in games.
James finished with 30 points in the win, but more importantly, he shut down Aaron Gordon on the defensive end, holding the forward to just seven points, after he scored a team-high 29 in Game 3 on Thursday.
Even more importantly for the Lakers, the role players showed up in a big way in Game 4.
Austin Reaves was aggressive from the jump, scoring 21 big points. D'Angelo Russell once again bounced back from a bad performance in Game 3, also scoring 21 points.
"He was amazing. He had his signature runs where he gets a couple of quick buckets," said Reaves of Rusell. "Just the style of basketball he plays, we need him to be successful for us to play at the highest level. Credit to him, the world was killing him after Game 3, and he didn't let that distract him. You have to tip your cap to a guy like that."
Thanks in large part to Russell's four three-pointers, the Lakers improved from beyond the arc in Game 4. After shooting a paltry 5-for-27 (18 percent) in Game 3, the Lake Show went 8-for-26 (30 percent) in Game 4.
"I try to be as humble as I can. I've been through it before," said Russell of his bounce-back performance. "I'm prepared for this. Especially these times when everyone is watching and everyone has something to say. I try and stay within myself and control my emotions."
Another key factor for the purple and gold was the offensive glass. After losing that battle in each of the first three games, they leveled the score in Game 4, with Denver grabbing just one more offensive rebound.
The Lakers also dominated the points in the paint 72-to-52 and had more second-chance points 14-to-5.
"We have to be able to counter their attack, and sustain our effort, and sustain our energy," said James. "We have to control the things we can control like fastbreak points, second-chance points, and offensive rebounds."
Despite staring elimination straight in the face entering Game 4, the Lakers knew they only needed to win one to turn the tide in the series.
"We just tried to get one game and go from there," said Davis before Game 4. "We know we've lost 11 straight. We can't focus on that."
LeBron echoed a similar sentiment.
"As long as you have life, then you always have belief," said James.
Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with another triple-double scoring 33 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists in the loss.
Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points and Jamal Murray finished with 22.
Denver still leads the best-of-seven series 3-1.
The series now shifts back to Denver where Game 5 will tip off on Monday night at 7:00 PM PST inside Ball Arena.
"It's a one-game series for us," said James. "So Monday's game is the most important of the season for us. We know what's at stake. If we lose we go home."
