Once again, the Denver Nuggets couldn't keep their emotions or Kobe Bryant in check.

Bryant scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in this Western Conference first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets, 102-84, yesterday at Pepsi Center in Denver.

Game 4 is tomorrow night, and the Nuggets are going to have to get more out of their All-Star duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson if they hope to take the series back to the Staples Center.

Anthony and Iverson were miserable from the floor, shooting a combined 10 for 38 and finishing with 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Bryant was quiet, too, at least in the first half, when he scored eight points on 3-for-8 shooting.

He scored nine quick points in the third quarter, however, to put the Lakers ahead, 64-51, and quiet the crowd that loves to hate him.

An airball slowed Bryant's surge just when it looked as if he was going to repeat his 19-point, 4 1/2-minute surge in Game 2, but the Nuggets trailed, 69-51, after Lamar Odom's two free throws.

Anthony drew a technical foul -- Denver's seventh in the series -- after he was stripped on his way to the basket, leading to a breakaway by Bryant that stretched the Lakers' lead to 78-61 with 2:33 left in the third.

Luke Walton added 15 points off the bench for Los Angeles, and Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher each scored 14.

• Magic 106, Raptors 94: Rashard Lewis had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Dwight Howard added 19 points and 16 boards, and visiting Orlando beat Toronto to take a 3-1 lead in this Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, while Hedo Turkoglu had 18 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Magic. Chris Bosh set a career playoff-high with 39 points and added 15 rebounds for the Raptors.

• Hawks 102, Celtics 93: Josh Smith scored 27 points and host Atlanta breathed life into their long-shot playoff hopes, beating Boston to cut the lead in this opening-round series, 2-1. Joe Johnson added 23 points for the Hawks, who beat Boston for the first time this season.

• The Charlotte Bobcats fired coach Sam Vincent after one season. The fourth-year franchise had hoped to make the playoffs for the first time this season. But the Bobcats went 32-50.

Part-owner Michael Jordan had taken a gamble in hiring Vincent. Vincent had never been an NBA head coach and had spent just one year in the league as an assistant.