The Los Angeles Lakers are two wins away from reaching the NBA Finals. But knowing the Denver Nuggets and what they have done in the previous two rounds to get to the conference finals, it’s hard to count Nikola Jokic and company out this early. Will the Lakers get to a 3-0 lead on Tuesday? Or will the Nuggets cut their series deficit in half?
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Betting Preview for the Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets NBA Western Finals Game 3 on September 22, 2020
Where: Walt Disney World, Orlando
When: Tuesday, September 22, 2020, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Lakers (-6.5) vs Denver Nuggets (+6.5) – view all 2020 NBA lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Los Angeles Lakers (-6.5)
Regular Season Record: 52-19
The spirit of Kobe Bryant lives on, and Anthony Davis channeled the Mamba Mentality in Game 3, when he buried the buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the Lakers a 105-103 win. It was a fitting end for the Lakers, who needed Davis to carry them in the second half, with the Nuggets making a big run. Davis finished the game with 31 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 39 minutes. LeBron James scored 12 early points and ended up with 26 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes. However, James was missing in the final quarter, where he went 1-of-6 shooting from the field. James will have to assert himself more in crunch time, as a double-headed attack with him and Davis has proven to be tough to handle for Denver. The Nuggets have no answer to Davis, who scored 37 points in Game 1 and is shooting 52.3 percent from the field so far in this series.
The Lakers are 5-0 against the spread in their last five games.
Betting on the Denver Nuggets (+6.5)
Regular Season Record: 46-27
That Game 3 loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Nuggets, and that’s putting it lightly. That loss wasted a terrific effort from Nikola Jokic, who had 30 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and four steals. Jamal Murray scored 25, too. But it was basically just the same story for the Nuggets as Game 1’s loss. Again, only Jokic and Murray showed signs of life among the starters. Paul Millsap coughed up six points, Jerami Grant chipped in seven points, and Gary Harris spat out just three points. These peripheral Nuggets players have to start feeling the urgency and stop relying too much on what Jokic and Murray will do on the court. Also, the Nuggets need their outside sniping to recover. After hitting at least 12 3-pointers in each of their last three games in the second round, the Nuggets have not hit more than nine in a game in the Western Conference finals.
The Nuggets are 4-1 against the spread in their last five home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Lakers win, 117-112.
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