In all three first-round playoff games against the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers have led by ten points or more, but they have lost all of them.

The most recent heartache occurred on Thursday when Denver upset the home team Lakers 112-105 in Game 3, nearly sending L.A. out of the playoffs. In Game 1, L.A. had a 12-point lead but ultimately lost 114-103. In Game 2, L.A. had a 20-point lead but ultimately lost 101-99. And then, in Game 3, Los Angeles had a 12-point lead before losing again. Denver hung on after outscoring Los Angeles 60-42 in the second and third quarters.  The Lakers’ inability to muster much, if any, productive play outside of Anthony Davis (33 points, 15 rebounds), LeBron James (26 points, 9 assists), and Austin Reaves (22 points, 4 steals) was a major factor in their defeat.

Just 5 of 27 threes were made by Los Angeles. Despite missing all seven of his shots, D’Angelo Russell, who averaged 18.0 points in the regular season, failed to score. With the exception of Davis, James, and Reaves, all of the Lakers scored 24 points on 10 of 30 shots.

Denver has now defeated the Lakers 11 times in a row, including in the playoffs. During that run, Denver defeated the Lakers in four games during the Western Conference Finals the previous year.

Following that, both fans and pundits made fun of the Lakers, who are almost definitely going to return home soon.

.....In Los Angeles, Game 4 will start on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. If the Lakers win, Game 5 of the series will return to Denver. The Lakers’ season ended with a Nuggets victory.