The Denver Nuggets got a much needed win in primetime against the Los Angeles Lakers. A big run to open the game propelled the Nuggets into a lead they would never give up. Nikola Jokic had another triple-double, Jamal Murray shot very well and the Nuggets turned away numerous rallies from the Lakers and Luka Doncic to get the victory. IT wasn’t easy but it looked good when it was all said and done, Nuggets win 120-113.
Murray and Jokic worked their two man game to open and that went well with Jamal getting six points and assisting Joker on another two for an 8-0 run. It took the Lakers nearly four minutes to get their first field goal which allowed Denver to get a double digit lead behind Murray. The Nuggets missed several easy shots and failed to seize an opportunity to build the lead more as the quarter neared the halfway point. They still were able to keep it around an eleven point advantage though. The Lakers eventually started to find their offense and got back within a half dozen or so but the Nuggets bench came in and got a boost from Tim Hardaway Jr. Tyus Jones also made his Nuggets debut. Hardaway was the main source of offense in the final minutes of the quarter. LeBron James set the record for the most field goals in NBA history but Denver still led 32-22 after one.
The Nuggets opened the second quarter hitting threes, Murray included, and got the lead up to fifteen with an 8-0 run. That forced a Lakers timeout. LeBron got things back in order on L.A.’s side and sparked an 8-0 run of their own. The Nuggets were playing very sloppy and turning the ball over repeatedly. Doncic hit a couple shots and just like that the lead was down to three. Denver started hitting threes again, plus Luka got a tech, and the lead went right back up. Jamal went full Murray Flurry but the Nuggets couldn’t push the lead past fifteen because Doncic was still carrying L.A. They went on an 8-0 run to get back within seven before the Nuggets stopped the bleeding. A sloppy end to the half gave the Nuggets just a 64-54 lead.
Denver opened the second half re-asserting control through Jokic. He orchestrated the offense and built the lead back up. Murray continued to be the main driver of Denver’s offense but they also continued to turn the ball over and allow the Lakers to hang around. They kept chipping away and were using Doncic to get buckets. Midway through the quarter L.A. went on another run. Austin Reaves was scoring at will, he led a 14-2 run that got the Lakers back within four and forced David Adelman to take a timeout. That settled Denver down and Jokic went back to work diming up his teammates. They got the lead back up to eleven with a couple minutes left in the third. The Nuggets struggled to close out the quarter though, and went to the fourth leading just 93-86.
Denver opened the fourth strong. Hardaway was once again carrying the offense for the bench group. They got back up by double digits briefly before a couple minutes of good defense from the Lakers helped them come back again. They went on a 9-0 run and forced a Nuggets timeout. Denver put together a couple of good possessions and got the lead back up. About midway through the quarter LeBron went down clutching his elbow and in pain. He left the floor but didn’t go back to the locker room. Meanwhile the Nuggets clung to a four-point lead with just under four minutes to go. LeBron came back in, no worse for wear, and Denver got sloppy once again. With two minutes left Reaves hit one of two free throws to trim the lead to one. Both teams went cold down the stretch after that. With less than a minute left the Nuggets got a second chance after a Bruce Brown rebound and Jokic cashed in a floater to put them up five with twenty-two seconds left. L.A. couldn’t convert on the other end and that left them playing the free throw game. The Nuggets held on and win 120-113.
