SteemSports Presenter:
SteemSports Editor:
The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Nuggets in Denver on Friday night 116-125. Brook Lopez (29 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) had an excellent game but LA as a team just couldn't close out the tight contest at the end. Denver had three players score 20+ points (Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Paul Millsap).
In the first quarter, the Lakers tried capitalizing off Denver's lack of rim protection by going inside to Julius Randle and Brook Lopez on their first few possessions, which yielded baskets for both bigs. Paul Milsap and Randle started jawing after a testy exchange below the rim, and they struck back at each other by getting authoritative baskets at each other's end. The Nuggets pulled ahead for a second by going through Millsap for the three ball and points in the paint. LA stayed in it by scrapping for rebounds and initiating turnovers off the Denver big men. It was a battle of the bigs! Brook Lopez vs. Nikola Jokic and Randle vs. Millsap. The Nuggets just had the edge playing on their home court with that ungodly elevation. They led the Lakeshow 37-28 at the first buzzer.
Denver kept strengthening their lead at the onset of the second. They just had more hustle and were moving the ball pretty efficiently, either resulting in an open three or a good look at the hoop. Despite the Nuggets good play, Isiah Thomas seemed more empowered to drive to the hoop for the Lakers. His recovery from the hip injury had been hindering his ability to drive, so that aggressiveness looked promising. Those nice drives by IT led to a 13-1 Lakers run, and the Nuggets took a timeout to rethink things. Denver drained some triples right out of that timeout and stiff-armed the Lakeshow to a 10 point lead 47-57. It was a high scoring affair by the end of the half, with the Nuggets up 65-62.
The Nuggets started the second half by jacking up shots from downtown, and the Lakers returned the favor. Both teams were shooting above 50% from deep. Neither squad was defending particularly well, and we already had our score at 78-86 with the Nuggets up and six and a half left in the quarter. The Lakers went on a run inspired by some great defensive possessions from Lonzo Ball to regain the lead 91-90. He did an excellent job of anticipating lazy passes from the Nuggets. The purple and gold held a 96-94 lead as they entered into the final period.
Isiah Thomas is trying to establish himself and LA's fourth-quarter guy, so he opened things up by sinking a couple nice mid-range jumpers and a layup in traffic. The Nuggets pushed back and we saw a lot of lead changes as the scores evolved into triple digits with about 8 minutes to play. The Nuggets started pulling away with a 6 point lead and a little over three minutes to go 116-110. Right when the Lakers pulled it within two, Paul Milsap sunk a three to extend it to five. After that, Millsap got a clutch block on Lonzo Ball who tried pushing up the floor in transition for a layup. The Lakers came close to pulling out a win but the Nuggets put this thing to bed with some free throws in the final seconds.
Nikola Jokic and Gary Harris were two bright spots of the night for the home team. They combined for 40 points and 11 assists. The Lakers didn't even get to the free throw line once during the fourth. They just couldn't run good plays in the last couple minutes and Denver was forcing turnovers off of charges or steals. The Lakeshow will be returning home to Staples for a date with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday evening. Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. will be making their return to the team that started their NBA career. The Denver Nuggets will face the Kings at home on Sunday as well.
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