Game 4 preview: Lakers look to avoid letdown in Denver

DENVER -- Derek Fisher's biggest assist of the Playoffs may have taken place when the clock wasn't rolling.

The seen-it-all point guard made it a point to address his teammates during breaks in the action during the fourth quarter of Game 3, reminding them what was at stake.

Fisher didn't take credit for spurring the Lakers on to victory. He just sensed it was time to speak up.

"It was an opportunity we had as a team to take a big step on our way to becoming champions," Fisher said.

The Lakers stepped up in the final period to outlast the Nuggets 103-97 and steal back the homecourt edge. Already a successful trip can become colossal with another victory tonight in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Fisher knew that a victory Saturday night wasn't necessary to take control of the best-of-7 series. That could have been even with a loss, as long as the Lakers won Game 4. But there was more in play than just gaining a split in Denver.

Putting a dam on the momentum the Nuggets gained by winning Game 2 figured heavy in the Lakers' mindset. They and everyone else watched what happened in the West semis, when the Rockets rolled in their last three home games to take the series the distance.

"We're holding ourselves accountable to not let what happened in the last series happen," Fisher said.

The veteran point guard in the other locker room was one of several Nuggets to address his team on Sunday.

"We talked about what we didn't do during the game," Chauncey Billups said. "That's what I talked about. The opportunities that we had that we settled on in a few situations. We actually talked about it and saw it on the film."

It wasn't the easiest replay to watch, especially the edit focusing on 3-pointers. The Nuggets shot just 18.5 percent (5 of 27) from beyond the arc, with Billups, Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith taking all but three of the bombs.

The Nuggets were on the verge of breaking the game open several times, only to pull up from deep and clank. George Karl, mixing his sports metaphors, called it a case of swinging for the fences instead of settling for singles. Billups agreed.

"If you look at who shot the most of them, it's all our best shooters," he said. "If your best shooters get good looks, then you've got to take them. I think the problem was that myself, J.R., Melo, all of us who are really good 3-point shooters, shot some bad 3-point shots at bad points of the game. Taking chances trying to hit the dagger as opposed to playing smart."

The Lakers are the ones in position to deliver the dagger now and they know it all too well.

"We don't want to relax," Pau Gasol said. "We don't want to be too confident for [tonight's] game. We can't expect them to lower the bar. It's going to be even tougher than it was [Saturday]. It's a must win for them, otherwise they have a very little chance to beat us in this series."

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