In late February, March, April and early May, the Los Angeles Lakers looked like a gathering storm after several midseason trades that essentially performed CPR on the roster.
But in the last week or so, their magic carpet ride came crashing down to earth at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, and on Monday at Crypto.com Arena, it became official.
Down in the Western Conference finals 3-0, Los Angeles came out with plenty of pride, passion and aggression, forging an early lead and increasing it in the second quarter behind some outstanding play by LeBron James. The team shot 55.6% overall and 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from 3-point range in the first half and took a 73-58 lead at intermission.
But that advantage evaporated in the third quarter like the Southern California marine layer disappearing in the afternoon heat. The heat was certainly emanating from the Nuggets, who started outhustling the Lakers and outscored them, 36-16, in the period.
Down the stretch, L.A. fought to stay in the game, but a couple of wild misses by James near the end of regulation sealed a 113-111 defeat and a disappointing end to what looked like a very promising season. For Denver, Nikola Jokic had yet another triple-double, his third of the series, with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists plus three blocked shots.
The immediate future may still look somewhat bright for the Lakers, but there are also a couple of burning personnel questions that will need to be answered if they will have any hope of winning their 18th NBA championship next season.