LeBron James: 'We know what it takes to win a championship and how damn near perfect you gotta be'

Dave McMenamin @mcten
New story: The Lakers are on the brink of a sweep for the second straight year at the hands of the Nuggets. LeBron James says him and AD have what it takes to get it done in the playoffs, but what about the rest of the team? es.pn/4b9V0AJ – 4:02 AM

Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
New Mismatch just dropped getting into everything that happened on Thursday plus every other series @ChrisVernonShow
-Is this it for LeBron?
-Nuggets beauty
-BANCHERO!!
-Embiid’s 50 bomb
-midrange Halliburton?
-Mavs D
-Gobert!
-Thunder upside
-Heat odds open.spotify.com/episode/7Do1Xj… – 3:05 AM

Bill Simmons @BillSimmons
New BS Pod w/ @jkylemann @VanLathan
—Did Denver kill the LeBron era in LA?
—Embiid’s Revenge
—Celts Therapy Session
—Chet or Paolo?
—The Pats got Maye! Yeah!
—Atlanta’s Penix Stunner
—Bo Nix… 12? Huh?
—Fav NFL Draft Picks
—Van’s draft family analysis
open.spotify.com/episode/0agV4I… – 2:36 AM

BasketNews @BasketNews_com
Will Nikola Jokic retire LeBron James? 🙈 pic.twitter.com/bccvqofkAF – 1:34 AM

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on the optimism he still has despite facing a 0-3 series deficit pic.twitter.com/DbfB4NctHK – 1:34 AM

Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
“They do not have a weakness offensively.” – LeBron, praising the Nuggets’ starting five. AK – 1:30 AM

The Ringer @ringernba
LeBron James and Anthony Davis vs the Denver Nuggets pic.twitter.com/f6bZWcrG4j – 1:15 AM

Austin Burton @AmaarBurton
After Game 2: “LeBron should’ve kept running the offense through AD and let D’Lo cook instead of taking over in the 4th quarter.”
Game 3: (Runs the offense through AD and lets D’Lo cook) pic.twitter.com/LAExepvB5F – 12:45 AM

StatMuse @statmuse
Points this playoffs:
176 — LeBron and AD
131 — Rest of the Lakers combined pic.twitter.com/ddGWu4x3Ut – 12:41 AM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Final: Nuggets 112, Lakers 105
The Lakers’ season is effectively over. Denver has taken a commanding 3-0 lead and won 11 straight. AD had 33 points and 15 rebounds. LeBron had 26/6/9. AR had 22. DLo went 0-7 and was benched down the stretch.
Up next: Game 4 on Saturday. – 12:39 AM

StatMuse @statmuse
The Nuggets are the first team to beat LeBron 10 straight times. pic.twitter.com/jEgSHEvJhc – 12:30 AM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
LeBron & AD = 53 points
Jokic & Murray = 40 points
Rest of Lakers starters = 17 points
Rest of Nuggets starters = 49 points – 12:22 AM

Kendrick Perkins @KendrickPerkins
Unless Jokic has an early retirement… Lebron will never win another title – 12:12 AM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Anthony Davis is subbing out with 7:32 left in the fourth quarter. Lakers going small with Rui Hachimura and LeBron James at the 4/5. – 12:11 AM

Rob Perez @WorldWideWob
Jokic on bench, LeBron AND Anthony Davis on the floor for the Lakers for the first 3 minutes and 16 seconds of the fourth quarter.
Nuggets win the minutes by 3. – 12:11 AM

Vincent Goodwill @VinceGoodwill
After 33 minutes, LeBron James goes to the foul line for the first time tonight. Might be some kind of record – 12:09 AM

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
After that last drive, LeBron got angry with the official after arguing Michael Porter Jr got away with elbowing him in the throat. – 12:07 AM

Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
LeBron and AD both out there with Jokic out, Lakers must make a push here. – 12:05 AM

Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Aaron Gordon is a serious problem cover for the Lakers. Rui isn’t always attentive enough and he’s very tough for LeBron to match from an energy/activity perspective. AK – 11:59 PM

Mike Prada @MikePradaNBA
LeBron has been absolutely worked on those dunker spot cuts. – 11:56 PM

Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynski
LeBron … yikes. – 11:51 PM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
The Lakers go into halftime up 53-49. LAL led by as many as 12 but the Nuggets, as they do, cut into it. AD 16p 7r 3a; LeBron 14p on 7-of-9 3r 4a; Reaves 10p. LAL shot 1-for-11 from 3. – 11:20 PM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Halftime: Lakers 53, Nuggets 49
It feels like LA should be up by more with how Denver is shooting and turning the ball over. DEN’s offensive rebounds (9) and second-chance points (12) have kept them in this. AD has 16 pts and 7 rebs. LeBron has 13/3/4. AR has 10 pts. – 11:20 PM

Vincent Goodwill @VinceGoodwill
Lakers lead at halftime again. 47-43. AD with 16, LeBron 14-4-3. Gordon with 14-9, Jokic with 11-6-3…. Neither team can shoot from 3, Nuggets 13 percent, Lakers 9 percent – 11:19 PM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Denver is as close as they’ve been since the opening minutes, with a 6-0 run boosted by 2 Lakers turnovers (LeBron, Russell), and a rushed 3 that missed (Russell), as LAL’s lead is 47-43 with 2:43 left in the 1st half.
LAL are 1 for 9 from 3, and DEN 2 for 14. – 11:10 PM

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James bullied his way toward the basket. Aaron Gordon motioned a traveling call, but the officials disagreed. – 10:57 PM

Nick DePaula @NickDePaula
LeBron James is in the “Prime Year” hybrid LeBron 21s tonight — a tribute to his 21st season and Deion Sanders’ classic Nike DT Max 96 signature shoe. pic.twitter.com/d5cg4EbcdF – 10:50 PM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
The Lakers lead 33-23 after 1Q. AD 12p 5r; LeBron 8p on 4-of-4 5r; Reaves 6p; Rui 5p. Jokic was great for DEN, as always, w/ 9p 4r 2a but he did pick up 2 fouls. – 10:50 PM

Khobi Price @khobi_price
Lakers open Game 3 by scoring eight unanswered points. Michael Malone calls timeout one minute and 50 seconds into the game after LeBron James’ dunk in transition. – 10:23 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Pregame, Michael Malone talked about how important it was on the road for his Nuggets to get off to a better start, not get down by 12 or 20 when the Lakers are pumped up by their home crowd.
LeBron breakaway dunk makes it 8-0 Lakers to start Game 3 – 10:23 PM

Vinny Benedetto @VBenedetto
A couple of Denver turnovers and a LeBron James block have the Lakers out to an 8-0 start in the first two minutes. Early timeout for the Nuggets. – 10:22 PM

NBA Kicks @NBAKicks
New Diamond Turf LeBron 21s for @KingJames at home! #NBAKicks pic.twitter.com/Jq44zoxUtu – 10:13 PM

Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds
Florida has won four straight in Tampa.
The last time that happened, Bill Clinton was President, LeBron James had not won his first state championship, the Canes had four national titles and when that streak started the Dolphins had a starting quarterback named Dan Marino. – 9:53 PM

Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Anthony Davis (low back soreness) and LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) have been upgraded to AVAILABLE for tonight’s game vs. Denver. – 9:29 PM

Kendra Andrews @kendra__andrews
Banchero up to 31 points and 14 rebounds heading into the fourth. Per @StatsWilliams, he’s the youngest player with 30 pts. and 10 rebs. in a playoff game since LeBron James in 2006. – 8:49 PM

Nick Wright @getnickwright
Y’all can dislike that he said it (or who said it), but LeBron was right: The replay center needs to either be eliminated or totally readdressed this off-season.
That turning into an offensive foul on Embiid is WILD. – 8:01 PM

Ball Don’t Lie @Balldontlie
Bron out two and a half hours early 👀
Do the Lakers get one at home tonight?
(via @NBA)
pic.twitter.com/9edPBnsy7R – 7:36 PM

Nick Wright @getnickwright
LeBron can’t be 2nd Team All NBA because his team is the 7 seed, but the Clutch Player of the Year can…
Ahhh nevermind. – 7:07 PM

NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
Can Lebron and AD find a way to win Game 3 vs. the Nuggets? 🤔
@ZachLowe_NBA has doubts about the Lakers 😬 pic.twitter.com/JQHaPV3Mlc – 5:49 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
LeBron James’ return to Olympic team sparked by chat after NBA points record
nbcsports.com/olympics/news/… – 4:09 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
LeBron at home in the playoffs:
28.4 PPG
8.9 RPG
7.2 APG
1.8 SPG
50.7 FG%
Back in LA tonight. statmuse.com/nba/player/leb… – 4:02 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope denies LeBron the ball. pic.twitter.com/BbJl00IYnJ – 1:46 PM

Tom Haberstroh @tomhaberstroh
You heard LeBron rant about it after Game 2. What IS “marginal” contact? It doesn’t show up in the NBA rulebook so I went looking for a definition. Here’s what I found and what it means for the playoffs: tomthefinder.com/p/it-might-be-… – 12:06 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Highest 3P% this playoffs (minimum 10 attempts):
63.6 — Brook Lopez
60.0 — Lu Dort
60.0 — Sam Hauser
54.5 — LeBron James
53.3 — Josh Hart pic.twitter.com/2lWlLQuOgM – 10:43 AM

StatMuse @statmuse
Playoff leaders:
PTS — Siakam
REB — Allen
AST — LeBron, Hali
STL — Four-way tie
BLK — Chet
FGM — Siakam
3PM — Dame
FTM — Embiid pic.twitter.com/Xi7Gw0ianX – 8:24 AM