3 takeaways from Lakers Game 4 win vs. the Nuggets

After 11 straight defeats and on the verge of getting swept again, the Lakers finally close out the Nuggets behind a balanced attack.

After a 498-day drought, the Lakers staved off elimination by finally defeating the Denver Nuggets, 119-108, in Game 4 of their series.

Given the one-sidedness of the matchup up until now, there was palpable apprehension from Los Angeles heading into the contest. They had seen how this story had played out so many times before that each game had begun to resemble a rerun.

However, threatened with getting swept by the Nuggets in two consecutive postseasons, the Lakers rewrote the script with a new ending on Saturday night. Behind a balanced attack and their most sustained performance against Denver to date, the team will live to see another day.

With Game 5 officially set, here are the three takeaways from the win the team will need to replicate if they hope to extend the series.

Getting the inside edge

Although the gap between the two teams seems as big as the Grand Canyon, the Lakers and Nuggets share similar ideologies in their offensive approach. Namely, their love for the paint, and how they bully teams within it.

In the regular season, both teams finished in the top five in makes in the paint, top four in the frequency of their shots at the rim and top two in post-ups. Conversely, the Nuggets and Lakers both had an aversion from the deep end despite both ending the year among the league leaders in efficiency.

Due to this, their matchups have often boiled down to two rams butting heads for paint dominance with the Nuggets proving to have the stronger horns.

Game 4 proved to be the exception.

The Lakers not only scored 20 more points in the paint, but also shot nearly 13% better on their chances at the rim as well. This was critical as it allowed the team to survive another lackluster shooting performance from beyond the arc.

Beyond being the more aggressive and efficient team inside, Los Angeles found a way to win the battle of the boards with a 53-46 advantage. It was the first time in the series they have done so.

This was largely thanks to yet another dominant performance from Anthony Davis. The center’s 20 defensive rebounds singlehandedly accounted for more than half of the Lakers’ total output, and his 23 boards overall was an individual playoff record for him.

Despite his team facing a 3-1 series deficit, Davis has more than held up his end of the bargain. Through four games, Davis is averaging 30.5 points, 15.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and is shooting 62.2% from the field.

The Nuggets and Nikola Jokic will assuredly look to regain the inside edge with the series heading back to Denver. It will be up to the rest of the Lakers to help Davis push them out.

The supporting cast provided support

It is often said the Lakers will only go as far as Davis and LeBron James take them. And while that is true, how much mileage they ultimately get depends on how much their teammates chip in for gas.

For as good as the star duo have been thus far in the series, the contributions from their supporting cast have been inconsistent at best.

Before Game 4, the previous high from the rest of the Lakers’ starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura was just 35 points. On Saturday, the trio who helped spearhead the team’s late-season push came up huge, pouring in 51 points in the potential elimination game. Taurean Prince also chipped in nine important points off the bench.

After several matchups in which the “others” came up short, the foursome's combined 60 points comprised the most balanced attack from the team in the series thus far.

Although each player and basket contributed to the win, perhaps the most encouraging was the bounce-back performance from Russell. After going scoreless in Game 3 and feeling the wrath of the media and fans the past few days, the guard impressively responded with an efficient 21 points, four assists and a game-best +15 in the box score.

It would have been easy for Russell to fold given the circumstances. The headlines and a new team’s jersey were as good as printed anyway. Instead, Russell decided to come out swinging.

Each timely bucket was not made to clear his name because regardless of the result, he knows perceptions of him likely will never change. No, the guard delivered them to ensure at least 48 more minutes of the Lakers’ season.

Russell’s performance proved why many pegged him as the x-factor of the series and highlighted the importance of having players not named Davis or James show up.

As seen at other arenas, a rally towel has been draped over every seat during the Lakers’ home games. Fittingly, written on them is the team’s postseason motto: “Takes everybody.”

Cliche, yes, but the truth in its message is undeniable.

A second half to remember

During the ESPN broadcast of the game, the network aired a graphic that illustrated just how drastic the discrepancy has been between the two teams in time leading on the scoreboard.

Given the Nuggets’ commanding 3-1 lead, one would assume these should be swapped. But, as has been the trend for nearly every one of their encounters, this has not been the case.

The truth is that the Lakers have largely led for a majority of the minutes in the series. So much so, they have held a double-digit advantage in every game against the Nuggets thus far.

Building leads hasn’t been the issue for Los Angeles, it’s been protecting it. This has especially been the case in the second half of games.

Through the first four games, the Lakers have a stellar netRTG of +17.2 in the first two quarters. That’s the third-best mark in the playoffs behind only the Celtics and Thunder. It’s worth noting that both are winning their respective series.

Although they have consistently gotten off to encouraging starts, once halftime ends and the third quarter begins, the Lakers’ carriage swiftly transforms into a pumpkin. Their -24.9 netRTG in the second halves of this series is the third-worst among postseason teams and has been the primary reason they find themselves trailing.

This trend appeared it would continue in Game 4 after the Nuggets cut a 15-point lead to just nine early in the third quarter causing many Lakers’ fans to experience traumatic flashbacks of previous Denver comebacks.

With another heartbreak and sweep on the verge of happening, the Lakers did something they haven’t done in over a year — withstand Denver’s punch.

Despite still ultimately being outscored in the second half once again, they did so this time by only two points. The key to finally maintaining control was their ability to score enough to keep pace with the Nuggets’ flurry.

After averaging just 45 points in the second halves of the first three games, the Lakers’ offense dropped 58 in Game 4. Serving as the team’s closer, James emphatically shut the door on the Nuggets, scoring 14 of his 30 points on the night in the fourth quarter.

It remains to be seen if the Lakers can carry over their success on Saturday to Denver. But for at least one night, they were able to get over the hump, an important psychological win over the source of their reoccurring nightmare.

The Nuggets do bleed. And if the Lakers have any hopes of making this a series, they will need to do the same things that pierced through their armor again.

All stats courtesy of Cleaning the Glass unless otherwise stated.

You can follow Alex on Twitter at @AlexmRegla.