Byline: Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer
DENVER - Carpe diem. Seize the moment. Seize the day.
Seize control of the Western Conference finals.
The Lakers vowed to do all of the above in Game 4 tonight against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. They said Sunday they learned their lesson after seizing nothing of significance the last time they played a Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead.
Two weeks ago Sunday, the Lakers strolled onto the court and got their heads handed to them by the Houston Rockets. That defeat meant the difference between a short and sweet series victory and a lengthy, drawn-out battle with the Rockets.
The Lakers needed seven games to eliminate the Rockets in their second-round series, and they're still paying the price for having to play an extra game or two. They were weary beyond words after taking a 103-97 victory from the Nuggets in Game 3.
Kobe Bryant needed intravenous fluids in order to refuel after scoring a team-leading 41 points Saturday night.
He said his wife called him after the game and said he looked terrible. He also said he went right to bed after the game and slept for 10 hours.
'Brutal,' he said. 'We've got two more series (this one and the NBA Finals). We've just got to get through it. There's two more series and we've just got to get it done, got to get it (freaking) done. We can be tired in August.
'We were in this position in the last series. We've got to come out with more focus, more energy, and really just execute a lot better on the defensive end.'
Indeed, the Lakers played it too fast and too loose after taking a 2-1 series lead against Houston with a sound victory on the Rockets' home floor. They barely played a lick of defense as the Rockets swept past for easy baskets in a 99-87 victory in Game 4.
The Lakers went on to defeat the Rockets in Game 5, but the Rockets forced the series to Game 7 with a strong showing in Game 6. The Lakers advanced by hammering the Rockets in Game 7, but everyone agreed they had to work too hard to win the series.
As in the last round, the Lakers split the first two games against the Nuggets at home and then produced a head-turning victory in Game 3. Now as then, it appeared the Lakers had taken command of the series. They must hammer the point home tonight.
'Everybody is still a little edgy,' Bryant said. 'Everybody's still a little upset. We haven't done anything. We're just ready to get after it again. ... We just want to win, we just want to win. We just want to come in here and take care of business.'
In other words, the Lakers want to do all the things tonight they didn't do in their last Game 4 on May 10 in Houston. They want to start fast, muzzle the Nuggets and their enthusiastic fans and seize a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
The Lakers don't want the series to be deadlocked at 2-all heading back to Staples Center for Game 5 Wednesday night. They made the most of their chance to take control of the series by rallying from a 79-71 deficit to start the fourth quarter of Game 3.
A loss tonight, while not devastating, would nullify their remarkable finish Saturday, when Bryant scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, when Trevor Ariza had eight points and a key steal of an inbounds pass, when Pau Gasol scored eight points.
It would mean the Nuggets essentially would get a do-over after leading scorer Carmelo Anthony got into foul trouble in the second half and only scored three of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. It also would mean they would be even again.
'We don't want to relax,' Gasol said. 'We don't want to be too confident for (tonight's) game. They're not going to lower the bar. It's going to be even tougher than it was (in Game 3 on Saturday).'
It concerned the Lakers so much that they addressed the subject immediately after the final buzzer sounded on their victory over the Nuggets in Game 3 on Saturday.
'We talked about it,' Derek Fisher said. 'We're holding ourselves accountable to not allow what happened in the last series to happen again in terms of having solid performances in one game and then not being ready to go at the start of the next one.
'We've challenged ourselves in terms of where we go in the next 36 hours. ... Don't take that sigh or that relaxed deep breath. We told ourselves (Saturday) night, immediately after the game, to start thinking about the next game.
'I think everyone will respond the right way.'
elliott.teaford@dailybreeze.com
CAPTION(S):
Kobe Bryant needed intravenous fluids after the Lakers' Game 3 victo ry.
