Nuggets show why they’re the No. 1 seed as they put LeBron James,

LOS ANGELES — There comes a point in every playoff series when both teams come to an understanding.

The understanding of which team is best, and which team will win the series.

For the Lakers, both realizations crystallized in Game 4 of previous series — against Memphis, when the Grizzlies choked on their own arrogance and blew an overtime opportunity, and against Golden State, when the champs couldn’t muster their usual moxie to win a road game that was right there for the taking.

In the Western Conference finals, there they were, throwing everything they could at the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter. They had Nikola Jokić in foul trouble during an off night, Anthony Davis was doing work inside, and LeBron James finally ended his national nightmare by hitting back-to-back triples.

Yet after an exhausting effort, they still trailed by one and the Nuggets were fresh, steady stalking like black cats.

That black cat is now one game away from the NBA Finals after a 119-108 Game 3 win at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead. In NBA history, no team has ever come from such a deficit to win a series.

And the Nuggets seemed to know that coming in, still showing a respectful fear of the Lakers despite the control they displayed in the first two games.

But the fear wasn’t deference, and Jamal Murray made sure he didn’t live in a “what have you done for me lately” world by dropping a clean 30 on the Lakers in the first half, following up his 23-point fourth quarter showing from Game 2.

He led the Nuggets with 37 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, while Jokic grinded his way to 24 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, with most of his damage coming in the fourth when they held off a late charge.

They expected an early blow from the…