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Lakers target sweep of Nuggets in Game Four

Apr 28, 2008 - 1:24 PM LA Lakers at Denver 10:30 pm EDT Western Conference first round Lakers lead, 3-0

DENVER (Ticker) - A lack of consistency contributed greatly to the Denver Nuggets' low seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Another such display will likely lead to an early exit from the postseason.

The Nuggets hope to avoid a first-round sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers when the teams meet in Game Four of the Western Conference playoffs on Monday.

In Saturday's 102-84 blowout loss at home, frustration reigned supreme as Denver - the second-highest scoring team and sixth-best shooting team in the NBA during the regular season - were outscored in every quarter in large part because they shot a woeful 37 percent (32-for-86) from the field.

"The frustration came in and we were not ourselves," Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera said. "We did not make enough shots. I thought we played better defensively in this game, but our offense was not there tonight. We missed a lot of layups and easy wide-open shots."

Allen Iverson, who went 5-for-16 in Game Three, blamed the Nuggets' struggles on their inability to recognize what the Lakers were doing and adapt accordingly.

"I'm frustrated; I've been in a lot of playoff series but I don't think I've ever been this frustrated," he said. "In the third quarter, they were doing the same thing they'd been doing the whole game. They were getting things they wanted offensively, and stopping us on defense. We did nothing to change. We kept doing the same thing. I know we are a better team."

Denver will need to be improve quickly against a Lakers' squad that has defeated them all six times the teams have met this season.

"We're an extremely versatile team," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We can play fast, we can play slow, we can muck it up. The thing that we have is every player on the team can make plays. That's our biggest strength."