The Denver Nuggets handed the Los Angeles Lakers their fourth loss of the season tonight. LA is now 0-4 for the first time since their 2015-2016 season. The Nuggets move to 3-2 on the season, and tonight was definitely a balanced effort for them. They held an opponent under 100 for the first time this season in front of a sold-out crowd.
Denver had five players in double figures tonight. The leader was Nikola Jokic with 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists on 12-17 shooting. Bruce Brown stepped in for MPJ tonight, and he showed his value scoring 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists on 4-6 from beyond the arc. The Nuggets dominated in transition, scoring 35 points which is an NBA season-high so far. They look to continue this hot play against Utah on Friday at 7:00 PM MT.
1st Quarter
- Anthony Davis initiated the contest with a layup and Bruce Brown answered with a layup. KCP would then nail his first three, but Davis countered with a driving layup
- Jokic scored his first points with a layup and Murray added a one-handed slam off a Laker turnover. Reaves tied the score at 9-9 with a three from the top of the key
- Jokic and Brown both hit layups to gain a 13-9 lead, but Davis would again answer with a floater. Braun drilled a corner triple, but Lonnie Walker would respond with a layup and a three
- Braun and Murray both hit layups, but then Davis jammed one in after a Denver turnover to get the Lakers within one. Bones set up Brown for a corner three, but it was quickly answered with a Toscano-Anderson layup
- Jokic glided to the rim for another layup, and his sixth point of the contest put Denver up 24-22, until Bones dropped a behind-the-back pass to Uncle Jeff for the jam
Score: 26-22 Nuggets
Scoring leaders: Davis - 8, Brown - 7
2nd Quarter
- LeBron opened the quarter with an easy triple, but Bones found Jordan for an alley-oop dunk. Bones then located Brown for a triple as Denver increased their lead 31-24
- LeBron added a fadeaway jumper over good defense from Christian Braun. Brown then knocked down his third three of the game as Denver maintained a seven-point lead
- Troy Brown Jr. and Damian Jones helped the Lakers get within five, but Bones answered with a floater on the next possession. LeBron and Jones decreased the Nugget lead to 38-35 with two dunks
- Jokic dropped in a floater following a Nugget timeout, and then he added an assist to Gordon for a dunk. Jokic continued his hot play with a euro-step move for the and-one
- Davis sliced to the paint for a layup, but Brown responded with his fourth three of the half. Walker and Davis combined for four in a row, and Nunn splashed home a three as LA diminished the lead to 52-48
- KCP knocked in two free throws, but Davis immediately responded with an alley-oop dunk. Then Walker and Davis added transition layups to tie the score
Score: 54-54
Scoring leaders: Davis - 16, Brown - 16
3rd Quarter
- Davis opened the quarter with a mid-range jumper, but Murray answered with another one-handed slam off a Laker turnover. KCP then drilled a corner three coupled with a Jokic floating bank shot
- Murray assisted a surprisingly athletic Jokic one-handed dunk and KCP followed with another corner three. LeBron sank a little three-foot shot, and then Murray and Joker both nailed floaters for a ten-point lead
- Jokic added another layup and Gordon followed with another dunk off a beautiful Jokic assist. Brown Jr. then floated one in for two, but Murray countered with an up-and-under layup
- Murray executed a wonderful assist for a Jokic floater in response to a Davis layup as Denver held a 78-65 lead. After a Laker turnover, Uncle Jeff converted an and-one in transition, and KCP added another transition layup off a bounce pass from Jokic
- Braun drove to the rack for a layup, but LeBron answered with a layup off an offensive rebound
Score: 86-71 Nuggets
Scoring leaders: Jokic - 23, Davis - 20
4th Quarter
- LeBron started the final quarter with an and-one layup, and then he added another layup in transition. After six straight scoreless possessions for Denver, Matt Ryan splashed a three as the Lakers cut the lead to seven
- Jokic’s and-one floater calmed the tensions for a bit, but LeBron answered with a triple. Bones swished home a three to regain a ten-point lead, but again the Lakers would respond with a Walker layup
- Braun drove to the rack for a contested layup in transition coupled with a Murray corner three. Reaves nailed a three following a Laker timeout, but Jokic countered with two free throws
- Brown slammed one home in transition off a Murray steal, but Davis responded with an alley-oop dunk. Then Jokic hit a contested Sombor shuffle over Davis, and then he assisted a Jeff Green and-one
- The 108-94 Nugget lead evoked both teams to go to their benches with over a minute left
Score: 110-99 Nuggets
Stat leaders:
Points: Jokic - 31
Rebounds: Davis - 14
Assists: Jokic/LeBron - 9
Plus/minus: Jokic - +28