Once again the Denver Nuggets found themselves trailing big to a playoff opponent in a crucial matchup. The Los Angeles Lakers built a big lead in the first half but Denver was able to comeback and have a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter. Poor execution allowed L.A. to take the game to overtime and then cold shooting and some serious coaching lapses ended up dooming the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic had another huge triple double but Luka Doncic had one of his own and the clutch play of Austin Reaves ended up being the difference. Nuggets take a tough loss 127-125.

Denver was a little clunky to start but they were able to lock in on defense and keep the Lakers to just one field goal in the first two and a half minutes of the quarter. L.A. quickly knocked down a pair of threes after that though and got the lead. The Lakers first five field goals were threes and that kept them in front with the Nuggets committing a couple turnovers. Doncic led Los Angeles’ offense while Denver’s stalled out. The Laker lead grew with the quarter winding down, with just over three minutes left they had pushed it to ten. Jokic settled things down and Denver’s defense found their footing again. Their offense was still a struggle though, and that prevented them from closing out the quarter strong. After one the Lakers led 34-26.

The Nuggets were ice cold to open the second while L.A. was hitting threes again, causing Denver to fall behind by fourteen early in the quarter. Things kept going poorly for Denver’s offense as Jamal Murray was struggling to carry them while Jokic rested. LeBron James meanwhile carried the Lakers while Luka rested. Jokic, along with Aaron Gordon, checked in with the Nuggets trailing seventeen. That stopped the run and a couple buckets got the Nuggets back within twelve forcing a Lakers timeout. The teams traded baskets for a bit and kept the lead around a dozen while Denver continued to miss open threes. The offense started to sputter again and the L.A. lead started creeping back up again. Jokic was able to restore order and the defense tightened up to close out the half. After two the Nuggets trailed 61-50.

The Nuggets kept the Lakers off the scoreboard save for one three in the first two minutes of the third quarter while Gordon was knocking down jumpers. The game was slowed down by some sloppy officiating (the refs apparently forgot shooting fouls were a thing) and L.A. pushed the lead back up to sixteen. The Nuggets responded and the Lakers got careless with the ball. Denver went on a little run and pulled the game back within ten. The Nuggets were keeping pace as they moved through the meat of the quarter. Jokic sparked a 6-0 run on his own with an and-1 on a three pointer and then a steal and dunk to cut the Laker lead to three. They responded and pushed it back up but Jokic was not going to allow the game to get out of reach. Denver’s strong play continued to close out the quarter and they started running the floor every possession. After a Bruce Brown fastbreak layup the game was tied at 87 and that’s where the third ended.

Denver took the lead quickly in the fourth quarter with Luka sitting but missed some open threes and a chance to push ahead. L.A. responded and the game stayed tied for a bit while both teams laid a bunch of bricks. A transition take foul followed by a Brown three put the Nuggets up by seven halfway through the quarter. The Lakers weren’t going to go away though and kept Denver from growing the lead anymore. However, L.A. wasn’t taking care of the basketball which prevented them from completely closing the gap plus Denver kept getting timely corner threes. After Luka responded to one with a three of his own and then got a foul call on a three pointer the game was tied at 109 with two minutes to go. Denver got up but kept turning the ball over and then fell behind by a point in the final minute. Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a three to put Denver back up two and then Jokic stole the ball to set up AG free throws. He hit one of two which gave the Lakers a chance trailing three with ten seconds left. The Nuggets wouldn’t let the Lakers get a three off and elected to foul instead but Reaves missed his second free throw with five seconds left, got the rebound and tied the game to send it to overtime.

Murray opened the OT capping his terrible game by fouling out. DeAndre Ayton got a floater and then neither team scored again until Christian Braun made two free throws with two and a half minutes to go. Ayton got another layup before Gordon responded with a step back three to set up another close final minute. Marcus Smart hit a three, Jokic responded with a layup and the Lakers had the ball in a tie game with 15 seconds left. Luka hit a floater with half a second (after Denver inexplicably chose not to foul with one to give) left and that ended up being the win. A tough start, some brutal coaching lapses and ultimately poor execution doom the Nuggets. They lose 127-125.