LOS ANGELES — Fashionably late, forward Linas Kleiza walked into the Nuggets locker room and screamed, “There’s no way these guys can stop us!”
A Nuggets team bus caught on fire on the Santa Monica freeway on the way to today’s Game 1 of the Lakers-Nuggets playoffs series. No one was hurt, but a tire pop and thick black smoke forced eight players and some staff members to the side of the highway, where they waited 30 minutes for the second bus to pick them up.
Upon arrival to the Staples Center, Nuggets such as Kleiza joked that the Lakers might have something to do with the delay.
“It was a heck of a preparation by the L.A. Lakers,” Denver coach George Karl said in jest. “(General manager) Mitch Kupchak is better than I thought he was.
“But it’s probably a pressure release, you can laugh a little bit rather than worry and get nervous. Some guys may not get up as many shots as the normally do before a game, but I think we’re ready to go.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
