Darvin Ham is fully encouraged by the Los Angeles Lakers’ strong efforts of pulling their Game 1 Conference Finals loss into a close one against the Denver Nuggets.
“I mean, we woke up and I thought we started digging in and playing a little bit with a little more urgency. But there’s no doubt in my mind we come out for Game 2,” Ham said following their 132-126 loss. “We’ll be ready.
“We’ll go back and do what we need to do for our team physically. Start the recovery process now, break down the film, watch what we need to watch.”
The Lakers ended the half facing a double-digit edge and fell down by as much as a 21-point deficit posted by the Nuggets in the third frame, but they suddenly pulled the trigger to ignite a late rally in courtesy of their 66 percent second-half efficiency from the field.
After ending the third quarter in a much closer distance against Denver, Los Angeles blasted a 9-0 blitz to pull themselves by three under three minutes. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to fully seize the momentum to drop in Game 1.
This marks the first time this postseason that Los Angeles trails a series against an opponent. They notably outlasted both the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of their previous playoff rounds and went on to win the series.
“Thank God it’s the best-of-seven, not the NCAA tournament. It’s the first of four,” Ham said.
“We’ll be okay, trust me.”
