While the Nuggets melt down, the Lakers talked Sunday about the importance of keeping Denver feeling blue.
“You just never want to have a situation happen that you don’t take advantage of,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
“I think when you have a chance to close a team down and finish the series like we have now, we have to take it and don’t wait until the next game,” Lakers center Pau Gasol said. “Don’t give them any life. Don’t give them any momentum.”
The Nuggets, who placed “I believe” signs on mirrors and equipment in their weight room to help boost morale, have no momentum. But Jackson understands what they’re trying to accomplish.
“I think they’re trying to get the mentality that you’ve got to go out there and believe,” Jackson said. “To do that, they have to be able to do some things defensively and offensively. Obviously, as a coach, that’s what you try to get them to do: believe in themselves, believe that anything can be accomplished. Our job is to place doubt in their mind.”
The Lakers have done plenty of that already with three consecutive victories in this series and six straight wins going back to the regular season. They have disheartened the Nuggets so much that Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said he thought his team quit playing hard in the second half of Game 3.
And while there has been some backlash on Anthony for saying it, Lakers guard Derek Fisher said the Denver star’s comments were understandable.
“I think it’s frustration and anger, in a sense, and disappointment,” Fisher said. “It’s not a totally irrational statement. I think it’s a way for him to express what he’s truly feeling. Being on teams that didn’t have a chance to be successful, it’s not a good feeling.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
