NBA = American professional basketball, Rui Hachimura of the Lakers scored 3 points in the third game of the Western Conference Finals held back in his home city of Los Angeles and contributed defensively, but the team lost to the No. 13 seed Nuggets and lost three in a row, leaving them on their way to the NBA Finals.
In the Conference Finals of the playoffs, the team that wins four games advances to the NBA Finals to determine the champion of the season.
After back-to-back away losses to the No. 4 seed Nuggets, the Lakers returned to their home of Los Angeles on the 1th for Game 20.
Hachimura, who has scored in double figures in two consecutive games and has also made his presence felt in defence, was entrusted with marking opposing ace Nikola Jokic when he came on in the middle of the first quarter.
While Jokic averaged more than 3 points in the playoffs, Hachimura limited the players to five points in the first half with a strong defense, and the offense aggressively attacked under the goal to take a big lead in the first quarter and the Lakers took a three-point lead to close the first half with a 2-1 lead.
The Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter to trail by two points, but couldn't stop their opponents' three-point shots in the closing minutes and lost 30-5.
The Lakers, who lost at home for the first time in the playoffs this season, are 1-3 and are now on track to advance to the NBA Finals.
Hachimura played 55 minutes and 58 seconds, scoring 2 points and grabbing six rebounds.
The fourth leg will be played in Los Angeles on 4 June.