Lakers Gameday | 04/26/08 | Lakers 102, Nuggets 84 - (Lakers Lead Series 3-0)

DENVER (AP) -- Once again, the Denver Nuggets couldn't keep their emotions or Kobe Bryant in check.

Bryant scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets 102-84 on Saturday.

Game 4 is Monday night, and the Nuggets are going to have to get more out of their All-Star duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson if they hope to take the series back to the Staples Center.

Anthony and Iverson were miserable from the floor, shooting a combined 10-for-38 and finishing with 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Bryant was quiet, too, at least in the first half, when he scored eight points on 3-for-8 shooting.

He scored nine quick points in the third quarter, however, to put the Lakers ahead 64-51 and quiet the Pepsi Center crowd that loves to hate him.

Bryant has always played well in Colorado, where fans have persistently heckled him ever since he was charged with sexual assault at a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains in 2003, even after the criminal case was dismissed and a civil suit settled.

An airball slowed Bryant's surge just when it looked like he was going to repeat his 19-point, 4 1/2-minute surge in Game 2, but the Nuggets trailed 69-51 after Lamar Odom's two free throws.

Anthony drew a technical foul -- Denver's seventh in the series -- after he was stripped on his way to the basket, leading to a breakaway by Bryant that stretched the Lakers' lead to 78-61 with 2:33 left in the third.

Los Angeles took an 83-64 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Luke Walton added 15 points off the bench for Los Angeles, and Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher each scored 14.

By the closing minutes, the Lakers' bench was more interested in a fight in the stands that led to some belligerent fans being taken away by police officers. Even Bryant stuck a peek while teammate Jordan Farmar was shooting free throws at the other end of the court.

On his next touch, Bryant hit a 3-pointer from the right elbow for a 100-78 lead, then took a seat and acknowledged with a thumbs-up his very own cheering section that had drowned out the boo birds during the second half and continued the "MVP!" chants that serenaded him back in California.

The Nuggets, who have lost seven straight playoff games, not only wanted to keep their composure coming back to Colorado, but they also figured they could get to the rim and the foul line more than they had in the first two games in Los Angeles.

Nothing doing.

They limped to the locker room trailing 53-46 at halftime with 'Melo and A.I. a combined 5-for-21, pretty much negating the boost they got from forward Linas Kleiza's start.

Kleiza's insertion into the starting lineup in Game 2 in place of guard Anthony Carter was key to the Nuggets keeping up with the taller Lakers -- until he hyper-extended his right elbow on a hard foul by Gasol and the Lakers pulled away for another double-digit win.

Despite missing practice Friday, Kleiza scored 15 points, but he got little help.

With Denver missing jumpers, layups, committing three-second violations and not drawing any fouls, the Lakers began pulling away after Anthony's basket with 4:29 left in the second quarter had tied it at 42.

Bryant hit a sweet 6-foot jumper, Gasol sank a free throw and Vladimir Radmanovic swished a 3-pointer, forcing the Nuggets to call timeout.

It didn't help. Gasol sank two more foul shots to make it 51-42 before Iverson hit four free throws in the final minute. Before that, the Nuggets had shot just four free throws all game.

Denver defensive specialist Kenyon Martin was the only one keeping the Nuggets from getting trampled early on. He hit four of his first six shots while his teammates were a combined 1-for-13 from the floor.

In the third quarter, however, Martin was the victim more often than not as Bryant got hot and starting hitting all kinds of shots over and around him.

Game notes
The Nuggets' 33-8 home record was their best since 1989-90. ... Lakers F Ronny Turiaf, who lost 11 pounds and missed Game 2 with tonsillitis, was back in action, rendering Coby Karl, the son of Nuggets coach George Karl, inactive.

The Denver Nuggets realize they need to keep their cool if they're going to rediscover their winning ways before the Los Angeles Lakers bounce them from the playoffs.

In their two losses in L.A., the Nuggets never quit barking at Kobe Bryant and got called for a half-dozen technical fouls, including a double-whammy on All-Star Allen Iverson, who was tossed from Game 1.

"I would prefer us staying more professional and stay away from the trash talking," Nuggets coach George Karl said Friday.

The series shifts to Denver on Saturday and the Nuggets know they can't keep provoking Bryant and the fed-up officials if they're to have any hope of turning around this series.

"In the playoffs, you get a little more emotional," Lakers forward Lamar Odom. "You can't help it, every game is so important. When we're at their place, we'll try to avoid that."

The Nuggets, who led the league in technicals during the season, were unable to keep their composure on the road.

"I think we all know it's part of our immaturity a times," Karl said. "You don't earn respect by getting technical fouls."

It's apparently not wise to keep egging on Bryant, either. He had 49 points and 10 assists in Game 2, when J.R. Smith threw more trash talk at the MVP favorite than even Kenyon Martin did in the opener.

Smith kept barking when Bryant was in the midst of a 19-point surge spanning less than 4 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter.

"Good conversation," said a smiling Bryant, who acknowledged that the insults from the 22-year-old Smith fueled his fire.

Yet some Nuggets shrugged off their frustration fouls and all the off-color commentary.

"That's just the way the game of basketball is," Smith said. "People are going to talk trash. People are going to do what they got to do to win games."

Marcus Camby said the technicals were "just a lot of frustration. And that's just guys wanting to win so bad and they're just trying to go out there and fight, so you can't knock the effort. It's not really a problem. When them techs happened, the game was pretty much out of hand late in the fourth quarter, lead was double digits."

Those late-game Ts certainly didn't engender any goodwill with the officials, however, and they contributed to the notion the Nuggets are just overmatched and way too worried about whistles.

Karl, for one, didn't like the timing of the technical fouls.

"I think earlier in the game is more understandable and there might be a motivation part there. I can handle that better," Karl said. "In the fourth quarter, every point could strategically have an impact on the game. On the road, it's a multiple impact on the game. So, keeping your composure, keeping your focus and not beating yourself is a big part of winning games in the NBA.

"A lot of times you win games if you just don't beat yourself. Technicals are a gift to the other team."

To make this series competitive and avoid a fifth straight one-and-done trip to the playoffs, the Nuggets are going to have to keep their composure and quit giving the Lakers such presents.

"Oh, you got to," Linas Kleiza said. "When they play on their homecourt they're going to get the calls going their way. It's just the nature. But I don't feel officials do a bad job or anything like that. We just gotta keep our composure better. It's frustrating to lose and sometimes we take it out on the wrong people. We take it out on the officials, and it hurt us."

The Nuggets are counting on some of the toss-up calls to go their way at the Pepsi Center, where they went 33-8 this season, and Karl's hoping the homecourt energy leads to a little less talk and a lot more action.

The Lakers know that will make the Nuggets a tougher team to beat.

"I think they're an emotional bunch," Bryant said. "Once they get the crowd behind them, their emotions can be their biggest strength."

Instead of their biggest weakness.

Game notes
Kleiza has a swollen right elbow from his fall in Game 2 when he was fouled hard by Pau Gasol. ... Lakers F Ronny Turiaf, who has played just three minutes in the series because of tonsillitis, was slow and lethargic in practice Friday, coach Phil Jackson said. "I'm actually eating and drinking today. I'll be ready to go," said Turiaf, who's lost 11 pounds while sick.