Nuggets vs Lakers Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for NBA Playoffs Game 3 (Can Denver Achieve 3-0 Stranglehold?)

The 2022-23 NBA Playoffs continue on Saturday, May 20 with Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.

Nuggets vs Lakers Game 3 Info

• Series: DEN leads 2-0
• Date: Saturday, May 20, 2023
• Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
• Venue: crypto.com Arena -- Los Angeles, California
• Coverage: ABC

The Western Conference Finals head to Hollywood as the Nuggets boast a 2-0 lead following Game 2's 108-103 victory. Jamal Murray did everything could to help his team beat the Lakers, tallying a game-high 37 points with 10 rebounds while Nikola Jokic had, yet another, triple-double (23 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists).

Nuggets vs Lakers Odds & Spread

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: DEN: (+188) | LAL: (-225)
• Spread: DEN: +5.5 (-110) | LAL: -5.5 (-110)
• Total: 223.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Lakers enter this contest as clear home favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 8:30 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 223.5 points with both sides being available at -110 odds.

Nuggets vs Lakers Betting Trends

• Denver is 6-3 straight up (SU) in its last nine games against the Lakers.
• The Lakers are 5-2 SU in their last seven games against the Northwest Division.
• Denver is 5-2 against the spread (ATS) in its last seven games as the underdog.
• The Lakers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games.
• The total has hit the under in four of Denver's last six games played on a Saturday.
• The total has hit the under in six of the Lakers' last eight games as the favorite.

Nuggets vs Lakers Prediction & Pick

The Lakers completely dropped the ball in Game 2 despite leading by as many as 11 points while even having a five-point halftime lead. Los Angeles' downfall can be attributed mostly to a poor three-point performance (8-of-30, 26,7%) and getting outrebounded (49-40) by Denver.

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Having said that, I can see the Lakers bouncing back Saturday night. After, Darvin Ham's team is perfect 6-0 at crypto.com Arena this postseason, averaging 117.7 PPG on 48.6% shooting with a plus-18.3 average scoring margin. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have dropped five of their past seven road games, giving up 121-plus points in two of the last three.

LeBron James will do everything in his power to make sure the Lakers aren't swept while Anthony Davis will likely have a bounce-back performance. With the Nuggets also losing eight of their past nine away games in this all-time series, look for the Lakers to cut the series deficit in half.

Final Score Prediction: Lakers: 122 | Nuggets: 115

Nuggets vs Lakers Best Bet

For this game's best bet, I'm taking the Lakers to cover as 5.5-point favorites. Despite back-to-back losses, they're still 5-1 ATS in their past six games while being 6-0 ATS in Los Angeles this postseason.

On top of that, the Lakers are also 4-0-1 ATS in their past five meetings with the Nuggets. Considering how playing at crypto.com Arena seems to be a huge obstacle for Denver, back Los Angeles to get a convincing win here.

Bet: Lakers -5.5 (-110)

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.