(Best E Casino) - The eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets attempt to avoid being swept out of the playoffs, as they host the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers tonight at the Pepsi Center in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.

In Game 3, superstar Kobe Bryant led a balanced Lakers attack with 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists as Los Angeles took a 102-84 victory in Game 3 and has the Nuggets on the verge of being swept in this Western Conference quarterfinal set.

Five Lakers finished in double-figures in the victory. Luke Walton netted 15 and Pau Gasol scored 14, while Derek Fisher drained four three-pointers, including three in the pivotal third period, en route to 14 points. Lamar Odom finished with 12 points and seven boards for LA, which held Denver to just 37.2 percent shooting from the field.

Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, who ranked third and fourth on the NBA's regular season scoring list, shot a combined 10-for-38 from the floor for Denver. Iverson netted 15 and Anthony ended with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds. Linas Kleiza added 15 points and nine rebounds in defeat.

The Nuggets have lost four straight Game 4s in the playoffs. Denver has dropped six straight contests when facing elimination from the postseason.

Denver was last swept out of the playoffs by San Antonio, 3-0, in the opening round of the 1995 playoffs.

The Lakers have lost three straight games then they have to chance to eliminate their opponent from the playoffs. LA has dropped three straight Game 4s in the playoffs.

The last time the Lakers swept a playoff series was when they defeated the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals.

This is the fourth time these teams have met in the postseason. The Lakers are a perfect 3-0 against the Nuggets, as they defeated Denver in the first round of the playoffs in 1979 and 1987. The Lakers also knocked out the Nuggets in five games, 4-1, in the 1985 West finals.

The Lakers have been eliminated two straight years by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. They lost in seven games in 2006 and in five during the opening round of the 2007 postseason.

The Nuggets advanced to the playoffs for the fifth straight year. They have been eliminated four straight years in the opening round of the postseason, and are 4-16 during that span. They fell in five games in the opening round to Minnesota in 2004, San Antonio in 2005, 2007 and the Clippers in 2006.

The last time the Nuggets advanced to the second round of the playoffs was during the 1994 postseason. Denver upset the Seattle SuperSonics in five games, 3-2, in the opening round that season, but was ousted in seven games by Utah in the Western semifinals.

The Lakers were 3-0 against the Nuggets during the regular season. LA defeated Denver twice at the Staples Center and on December 5 at the Pepsi Center.