Lakers' offense stalls again as Denver takes commanding 3-0 series ...

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers’ season took a decisive turn for the worse, drifting and falling before their eyes with no safety net in sight.

Another poor second half led to another loss to the Denver Nuggets, 112-105, in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.

Power forward Aaron Gordon bludgeoned the Lakers with 29 points as the Nuggets took a 3-0 series lead and created an uneasy reality for LA. An NBA team has never come back from a 3-0 series deficit, going 0-151 in playoff history.

Indeed, the Lakers’ season could end Saturday with Game 4 in LA.

There are plenty of places to probe, none of them positive for the Lakers.

Their offense, incredibly potent since the All-Star break, is averaging only 102.3 points this series. LA made only five of 27 three-point shots Thursday, a ghastly 18.5%.

“It’s super frustrating,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “After the trade deadline, even a little before that, our offense was clicking on all cylinders… Obviously, our offense wasn’t very good tonight.”

Not right now. Not even close.

Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell continued his unbelievably up-and-down series with no points on 0-for-7 shooting Thursday. He was one-for-nine from three-point range in Game 1 but bounced back in Game 2 with seven three-pointers, only to fade into the background again in Game 3.

“It’s unfortunate, man,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “He had some good looks that he just did not knock down. It’s as simple as that.”

Russell did not talk to reporters after the game.

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, a dependable source of scoring since the All-Star break, scored only five points Thursday.

Meanwhile, four of Denver’s starters scored at least 20 points, the definition of balanced scoring. In addition to Gordon, MVP candidate Nikola Jokic scored 24 points, Jamal Murray had 22 and Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points.

“Those guys make tough shot after tough shot after tough shot,” LeBron James said, later adding, “They do not have a weakness offensively.”

The Nuggets also beat the Lakers on the boards, particularly in offensive rebounds, 14-8, that allowed them to extend too many possessions.

Denver has defeated the Lakers 11 consecutive times, including a sweep in last year’s Western Conference finals.

There’s also been a pattern of post-halftime slides for the Lakers. They’ve been outscored by 42 points in the second half so far this series, the worst differential in the first round in their playoff history.

“I feel like we spend so much energy in the first half, building leads or [showing] defensive intensity that we have, that we come out in the third quarter with not much energy,” James said. “Kind of lose attention to detail that we had in the first half.”

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Lakers, even if it felt like it.

Anthony Davis continued his steady production with 33 points, while James added 26. Reaves broke out a mild two-game slump by scoring 22 points.

The Lakers had a slim 53-49 halftime lead, the norm this series. Neither team shot well in the first half, the Lakers making one of 11 from three-point range while Denver was a similarly ragged two for 15 from deep.

In fact, the Lakers missed 15 of their first 16 three-point shots, a devastating deficiency against the defending champions.

“We have to keep the scoreboard moving,” Ham said. “It’s tough.”

Even though no NBA teams have ever successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit, it’s happened once in Major League Baseball (Boston, 2004) and four times in the NHL, including the LA Kings in 2014.

If nothing else, hope hasn’t quite left the building yet for the Lakers.

“As long as you still have life, then you always have belief. I just think you play until the wheels fall off,” James said. “That’s what it’s always about for me as a mindset and I know [Davis] feels the same way.”