DENVER — 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 their first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets 102-84 today.

Game 4 is Monday 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 Pepsi Center crowd that loves to hate him.

Bryant has always played well in Colorado, where fans have persistently heckled him ever since he was charged with sexual assault at a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains in 2003, even after the criminal case was dismissed and a civil suit settled.

An airball slowed Bryant's surge just when it looked like he was going to repeat his 19-point, 4½-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.

Los Angeles took an 83-64 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back.

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

By the closing minutes, the Lakers' bench was more interested in a fight in the stands that led to some belligerent fans being taken away by police officers. Even Bryant stuck a peek while teammate Jordan Farmar was shooting free throws at the other end of the court.

On his next touch, Bryant hit a 3-pointer from the right elbow for a 100-78 lead, then took a seat and acknowledged with a thumbs-up his very own cheering section that had drowned out the boo birds during the second half and continued the "MVP!" chants that serenaded him back in California.

The Nuggets, who have lost seven straight playoff games, not only wanted to keep their composure coming back to Colorado, but they also figured they could get to the rim and the foul line more than they had in the first two games in Los Angeles.

Nothing doing.

They limped to the locker room trailing 53-46 at halftime with 'Melo and A.I. a combined 5-for-21, pretty much negating the boost they got from forward Linas Kleiza's start.

Kleiza's insertion into the starting lineup in Game 2 in place of guard Anthony Carter was key to the Nuggets keeping up with the taller Lakers — until he hyper-extended his right elbow on a hard foul by Gasol and the Lakers pulled away for another double-digit win.

Despite missing practice Friday, Kleiza scored 15 points, but he got little help.

With Denver missing jumpers, layups, committing three-second violations and not drawing any fouls, the Lakers began pulling away after Anthony's basket with 4:29 left in the second quarter had tied it at 42.

Bryant hit a sweet 6-foot jumper, Gasol sank a free throw and Vladimir Radmanovic swished a 3-pointer, forcing the Nuggets to call timeout.

It didn't help. Gasol sank two more foul shots to make it 51-42 before Iverson hit four free throws in the final minute. Before that, the Nuggets had shot just four free throws all game.

Denver defensive specialist Kenyon Martin was the only one keeping the Nuggets from getting trampled early on. He hit four of his first six shots while his teammates were a combined 1-for-13 from the floor.

In the third quarter, however, Martin was the victim more often than not as Bryant got hot and starting hitting all kinds of shots over and around him.