Maybe the Los Angeles Lakers hope the third time will be the charm.
The Lakers had their second chance to close out the Denver Nuggets, but were blown off the court Thursday night in Game 6 of their first round NBA playoff series, falling 113-96 at Pepsi Center. The Lakers trailed by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Ty Lawson torched the Lakers with 32 points, six assists, and five rebounds for the Nuggets. Lawson made two early three-pointers as part of an 11-0 run in the first two minutes to begin the game, and ended up shooting 13-of-18 on the night.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting, despite battling the flu, and he sat out the final 7:52 of the game. Bryant's teammates shot just 36.1% (22 of 61), bad enough to wear Kobe out:
Pau Gasol had just three points, on 1-of-10 shooting, and three rebounds for the Lakers. Andrew Bynum had 11 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, but made just four of 11 field goals.
Corey Brewer added 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting off the bench for the Nuggets, who shot 51.6% for the game and outrebounded the Lakers ... in the game.
Game 7 will be held Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. PDT at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
For more news and notes on Lakers basketball or on this first round NBA playoff series, be sure to read Silver Screen and Roll.
