The Denver Nuggets had a hot start against the Los Angeles Lakers and led by double digits at halftime. Unfortunately, a strong Lakers whistle and a heavy dose of LeBron James combined with a complete collapse of Denver ended up making the game turn 180 degrees. LeBron did a double triple while Nikola Jokic had a quiet night and the Lakers once again proved to be too much for Denver.
Jokic started the game by feasting on Marc Gasol, who could do nothing to stop him. This helped Denver to open a five-point lead, but LeBron was also playing well, which prevented Denver from going any further. Jamal Murray was also aggressive to start with a few buckets at the start. The Lakers were tough behind LeBron and the game was very tight when the banks started to arrive. Dennis Shroder and Anthony Davis carried the load while LeBron rested. The Denver bank received a boost from Monte Morris and Michael Porter Jr. to keep them ahead. After one was Nuggets thirty, Lakers twenty-seven.
The bank was full of energy to start the second quarter and they used zone 2-3, which gave the Lakers some problems. This helped to increase the advantage for Denver, who took the lead six behind Morris, MPJ and JaMychal Green. The Lakers backed off, but failed to gather enough baskets to cut Denver’s lead. Unfortunately, just as LA cooled, Denver too, so his lead remained at around 8 for several minutes. The Lakers were unable to buy a bucket and eventually the Nuggets’ lead reached double digits. LeBron was really the one who did anything for LA, although the TNT team of advertisers thought Schroder was elevated to all levels of the NBA by diving to the ground. The Nuggets’ offensive stopped a little with the final half, but it didn’t hurt them much. At the end of the second, they were still standing a dozen.
The second half started with three quick foul calls over Denver in the first ninety seconds, including a pair of e-one for the Lakers. All calls went to Los Angeles at the start of the third and Nugget’s lead dropped to five, forcing Michael Malone to take a break. The Nuggets found some momentum behind Murray to hold on to the Lakers’ race and held the lead with five points in the middle of the quarter. The Lakers were not doing much in the attack, but they made it to the free throw line and kept the pressure on Denver. The Nuggets went cold at the end of the quarter and a good fade away from LeBron put the Lakers in the lead with just over a minute to go. The next ninety seconds were the worst that the Denver bench probably played in the entire season, falling behind by eight in 15-0 in Los Angeles.
The Nuggets offered no resistance to start the room, which made Malone ask for an angry timeout with just over a minute in the room. The Nuggets’ play was simply sloppy. They would pick up a bucket, but then fall asleep in defense or turn it over. The Lakers’ lead increased to fourteen and it looked like all the air was out of Denver’s sails. Jokic took one last try and placed Denver within ten, before the Lakers’ timeout and subsequent 5-0 streak increased the lead again. Lebron launched a few more outstanding passes and messed up and picked up a double triple. The deep bank checked and ready. The nuggets collapse in the second half, losing 114-93.