The Los Angeles Lakers made a formal approach to the NBA following Game 3's free-throw disparity with the Denver Nuggets in the West Finals. In particular, L.A. complained about LeBron James and Anthony Davis not having enough free throws in the contest.

True enough, the tides changed in Game 4 on Thursday for the Lakers, with both LeBron and AD hitting the line on more than a few occasions throughout the game:

Not to say that the referees were influenced by the Lakers' formal approach to the league, but the variance in the free-throws between these two teams in Game 4 cannot be ignored. As shown in the stat above, LeBron and Davis combined for 26 attempts from the line, which is three more than the entire Nuggets squad. All in all, the Lakers shot 35 free-throws, as compared to Denver's 23 attempts.

To be fair to both James and Davis, they were much more aggressive in Game 4. Along with the rest of the Lakers squad, their dynamic duo played with a greater sense of urgency from the get-go. This is exactly the type of mindset they needed entering Thursday's contest, as a loss would have meant that the Nuggets would have tied the series at 2-2.

In the end, however, L.A. was able to hold off the Nuggets, 114-108. The Lakers are now just one win away from advancing to the NBA Finals, with Game 5 scheduled for Saturday night.

Then again, the Nuggets have been in a similar position in the past, and being down 3-1 in the series is not something new to them. We all know how that turned out for them in the previous two rounds.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Lakers, LeBron James, Nuggets, Bronny James, Deion Sanders

Jackson Stone ·

Lakers Anthony Davis and Darvin Ham after NBA Playoffs loss to Nuggets

Jay Postrado ·

cG9zdDoyODE2OTc4-thumbnail

Peter Sampson ·

—

Follow ClutchPoints on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook. We can also be found on Flipboard where you can subscribe and follow us. Get more on the Lakers.

All of our NBA content can be found on the NBA section of the ClutchPoints home page here. For all of our college basketball content, click here. Keep tabs on the Lakers.