Both times the recipient of the gift has been the Lakers' sneaky forward, Trevor Ariza, and both times it has been Lakers forward Lamar Odom guarding the inbound passer. At least it has been two different guys who threw the wayward passes for Denver.

On Saturday, it was forward Kenyon Martin who, inbounding on the side of the court with 37.1 seconds left and his team trailing 97-95, threw a looping pass. Ariza stepped in front of Carmelo Anthony to pilfer the ball and then made two free throws after being fouled by Anthony, who fouled out.

The Nuggets went on to lose 103-97 to fall behind 2-1 in the series.

"It was kind of deja vu of Game 1," Anthony said. "Trevor's so long and so fast and played the passing lane on it. I saw Game 1 as soon as the ball went in the air."

In Game 1, Ariza stole the ball when 6-foot-2 Anthony Carter tried to inbound from the side over the 6-10 Odom with 30 seconds left and the Lakers leading 101-99. The Lakers won 105-103.

At least this time Nuggets coach George Karl went with a 6-9 guy in Martin. But little else changed.

"I wish he would have called timeout," Karl said after Game 1 about Carter.

"(Denver) probably should have called another timeout," Karl said after Game 3. His team having already called one with 37.1 seconds left when Martin couldn't get off a pass.

The inbound passer in basketball is a bit like the long snapper in football. You usually only realize who performed the task when he messes up.

Earlier this decade while at Milwaukee, Karl actually regularly started obscure center Mark Pope, who would finish his career with a 1.9-point scoring average. One reason Karl liked Pope is because he called him a good inbound passer.

"It's a tremendous skill," Karl said of an inbound passer. "And we've been good there most of the year."

But not lately.

LAKERS 103, NUGGETS 97: The Nuggets knew they let one get away.

They had seized home-court advantage by winning Game 2 of the West final in Los Angeles, tying the series 1-1. However, they blew an eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter Saturday at the Pepsi Center and dropped Game 3 to fall behind 2-1 in the series.

"It's very frustrating," said Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups. "Great opportunity we missed out on. We knew it was going to be tough. They knew the importance of this game as well."

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant led the way with 41 points. Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, who actually had outscored Bryant by an average of 36.5 to 36 in the first two games of the series, was held to 21, just three in the second half.

The Nuggets trailed 97-95 with 37.1 seconds left. But forward Kenyon Martin threw an inbound pass from the side that was intercepted by Lakers forward Trevor Ariza. Ariza was then fouled by Carmelo Anthony, his sixth of the game, and made two foul shots.

The Lakers outscored the Nuggets 32-18 in the fourth quarter after trailing 79-71. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said his team got some momentum when Nuggets guard J.R. Smith got a technical for taunting after hitting a three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer.

"Just kind of chip away at it and then come and take it in the end," Jackson said of his team's fourth-quarter resolve.

The Nuggets hadn't lost at home since March 9. They had won 16 straight home games, including six in the postseason.

Game 4 is Monday night at the Pepsi Center.