The Denver Nuggets brought a nine game win streak into Ball Arena tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers who brought their new duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic. It was Luka’s best night thus far in a Lakers uniform and LeBron was still LeBron. Nikola Jokic had a triple double and Jamal Murray a good night as well but it wasn’t enough to overcome L.A. Denver turned the ball over too much and Doncic had an answer for every one of their runs. The Nuggets win streak gets snapped in a 123-100 wire to wire loss to the Lakers.

Denver was ice cold to start the game. They missed their first six shots which got the Lakers a lead. The Nuggets eventually found their offense and rallied to tie the game at eight all. Both teams were looking to run and that got multiple guys on both teams involved in the offense. The Lakers went on a run led by Doncic and got up by eight to force a Denver timeout. The Nuggets got sloppy and the Lakers got the benefit of the whistle with the quarter winding down. L.A. went on an extended run and grew their lead to double digits. Jokic took control in the final minutes. A solid close to the quarter put Denver down just 38-31 after one.

Denver struggled to find offense in the non-Jokic minutes to start the second quarter. There were a lot of Russell Westbrook jumpers and not very many that were close to going in. There was too many possessions that didn’t result in an opportunity for either Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. The Laker lead grew back to double digits before Nikola checked back-in. Once he did Denver took control again and went on a mini-run. They got within six before cooling off and letting Austin Reaves hit some shots. The Lakers settled into a defensive strategy of triple teaming Jokic which left Denver a little flustered. They kept turning the ball over and L.A. got back up by a dozen. Murray hit back to back threes but Luka and LeBron immediately responded. At the end of the half the Nuggets trailed 63-54.

Denver came out of the locker room hot and scored the first eight points of the third quarter to get within a point. Unfortunately, the Lakers responded with the next ten straight points and pushed their lead up to eleven. Denver was able to stop the bleeding there and used the three point line to cut into the Lakers lead. They got it down to six but started turning the ball over again. The Lakers took advantage and kept Denver from getting any closer while they started knocking down their own threes. The teams traded outside shots for about a minute before Michael Malone got frustrated and called a timeout with Denver trailing by a dozen. The Nuggets went on a mini-run behind Westbrook and Jokic at the close of the quarter. At the end of three they trailed 96-87.

The Nuggets kept themselves within striking distance to open the fourth but couldn’t cut into the Lakers lead with Jokic on the bench. Eventually their offense struggled and the Lakers knocked down three pointers to push the lead to seventeen. Jokic checked back in with the damage looking like it was already done. Nothing was coming easy for Denver. Reaves was hitting shots and the Nuggets were running out of time halfway through the fourth. A couple more turnovers, another Luka bucket, and Malone emptied the bench with four minutes left. The deep bench looked like exactly that in the closing minutes. Denver loses big, 123-100.

Luka looks comfortable

I thought Cristian Braun did an admirable job against Luka tonight, but it was just a case of a generational player doing what he does. Tonight was the first true example of why this trade can be such a big win for the Lakers. LeBron didn’t play poorly by any means but he also didn’t have to be the main focal point of Los Angeles’ offense. That was Luka. If he wasn’t scoring he was finding his teammates, including LeBron, and leading run after run to respond to Denver’s advances. There’s no stopping a player like that when he’s in the zone and the Nuggets were at Luka’s mercy pretty much all night long. It’s a different look in L.A. for sure and any trends that Denver built against the LeBron/Anthony Davis Lakers are now irrelevant.

Just too sloppy with the basketball

Feb 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) has the ball knocked away by Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Denver ends the game with 20 turnovers, absolutely ridiculous. Every time the Nuggets tried to make a run tonight they killed their momentum by giving up the ball, many times in a live-ball scenario. It was a consistent issue throughout the game and ultimately spelled doom for them. Jokic, Murray & Westbrook were the chief perpetrators in being careless with the basketball. The Nuggets have to get more from their ball handlers if they are going to win games down the stretch against a much tougher schedule. A team like the Lakers is especially tough to be sloppy against with the basketball. They consistently ran on Denver’s turnovers to turn them into easy points and ultimately a victory.