LOS ANGELES – There was increased opportunity for Aaron Gordon in Game 3, and Denver’s glue guy took advantage in the Nuggets’ 112-105 win over the Lakers on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.

“We asked a lot of Aaron Gordon tonight, and he came through all the way,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “(I’m) really impressed with Aaron’s effort and his ability to go out there and play the game at such a high level across the board.”

With Nikola Jokic playing through early foul trouble, Gordon was asked to do a bit more than usual. His production helped Denver take a 3-0 series lead of the Lakers for a second straight postseason. Gordon led the Nuggets with 41 minutes and 15 seconds of playing time and finished with a team-high 29 points and 15 rebounds.

“Try to play in the paint, guys were doing a great job of finding me with drop-off passes,” Gordon said.

“Just taking what the game was giving me.”

Gordon made 12 of his 18 shots to reach a new playoff career high in scoring and recorded a steal. His production helped neutralize big nights from the Lakers’ biggest stars. Anthony Davis led all scorers with 33 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. LeBron James added 26 points on 20 shots to go with nine assists and six rebounds.

All but one of Gordon’s shots came inside the paint. He grabbed five of Denver’s 14 offensive rebounds, and the Nuggets owned a19-13 advantage in second-chance points. He chalked up some of his success to Denver’s balanced starting five that features two focal points in Jokic and Jamal Murray and a couple of snipers in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr.

“They demand so much attention on the offensive side that (if) you don’t send the extra man, you don’t send that rotation, they’re going to torch you, and they’re going to continue to torch you,” Gordon said of his fellow starters.

“You’ve got to pick your poison. Then, I was just lurking on the baseline, trying to clean up all the garbage.”

He also threw down alley-oops and took advantage of a few other passes that found him around the rim.

“He’s an easy target to find,” Porter said. “You can throw the ball anywhere, and he’s going to go up and get it.”

The 6-foot-8 forward again served as Denver’s back-up center and was instrumental in Denver’s first-half stint with Jokic on the bench. That requires a bit more physicality, something Gordon possesses plenty of, but it also allows him to expand his game a bit.

“We need him to be a playmaker, a scorer, a roller, a defender, a rebounder, be the anchor of that unit,” Malone said.

“(It’s) kind of like what Nikola does when he’s out there.”

Gordon recorded a double-double with his first rebound of the third quarter. He started the fourth with 24 points and 12 rebounds. He didn’t take a 3-pointer until the final four minutes when Denver was up 12. Despite his gritty work inside, Gordon didn’t attempt a free throw until the final 30 seconds. He made five or his six late attempts to secure Denver’s win.

“He won us the game,” Jokic said.

On a night where Jokic nearly recorded a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and Murray (22) and Porter (20) also scored 20 or more points, nobody was better than Gordon as Denver came back from a double-digit deficit for the third consecutive game.

“Aaron Gordon was just incredible tonight,” Malone said.