Mumbai, May 20 (IANS): The Denver Nuggets will head to Los Angeles for Game 3 and move closer to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance. The Los Angeles Lakers hope they can find an answer for the Nuggets and protect their home court.

Former two-time MVP Nikola Jokic has been dominating this series and is currently averaging 30.4 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 10.2 assists in the playoffs.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone hailed the impact of his star center in this series.

"The thing you love about Nikola is he's going to read the game. Earlier in the game they were double-teaming him, so he found the open man. And when they played him one-on-one, he attacked the basket. And that's the thing I probably admire about him most, he never goes into a game or a possession with a premeditated notion of 'This is what I'm doing because he's going to read how the defense is guarding him and us'. But with that being said, you know, when Nikola is being aggressive and has that mindset, it elevates his game but more importantly the team's game and the guys around him follow suit."

LeBron James is not willing to take any more games in the series for granted, expressing that the Lakers need to play with desperation going back home for Game 3.

"We can't go into any postseason game with comfort, just because you either haven't lost at home or you're going back home. I think it's even more you got to be on edge, because when you go home you get in your own bed, get around your family, everybody's being cool and jolly and everything. Nah, you got to be even more on edge when you go home. So, we got to understand that going back and being down 0-2. There's no reason for us to get comfortable."

No team in NBA history has ever returned to win a series from a 3-0 deficit, so this game is a must-win for the Lakers. LeBron James has previously overcome a 2-0 Conference Finals deficit twice in his career, can he do the same again and qualify for his 11th NBA Finals?