Denver – The trip here has basically been the same as the past two seasons. The Lakers were showing signs that Denver may have found a way to exploit the Nuggets’ flaws just to knock on the door and run the same script.
With eight straights, including five in the playoffs, the Lakers came to Denver and left a loss that failed to knock the Nugget out.
However, the Lakers were not as consistent as Saturday, so they were trapped in a game plan and played basketball with almost no errors. The Lakers never attacked Nicola Djokic like they did on Saturday, forcing the three most valuable players to fire from the cutter’s knee or into the front row.
And the Lakers didn’t have Luka Donsic during that streak.
In his fourth game since being bought out in an Anthony Davis shocking deal, Donsic saw the house perfectly. Donsic found his footing even after his first shot couldn’t hit anything.
The Lakers controlled the Nuggets in a meaningful way during a 123-100 victory they hadn’t achieved since the 2020 playoffs. Donsic scored 32 with 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers halted both an eight-game skid in Denver and a nine-game winning streak for the Nuggets.
Doncic Hit Stepback Threes. He zipped his full coat pass. He threw the lob. He dived into the umpire, barked the fans, and shook his head at Denver’s defensive efforts.
He ruled.
“He showed that fire, that energy, his passion,” Forward Jerred Vanderbilt said. “You could see it coming back, and that’s what we lack. We’ve been preaching to him and playing his games. And it’s us I love about the game, I love him, I can come out here and show that passion, and show that fire. And he woke it up tonight.”
The Lakers will guard Lukadon Sic’s smile during Saturday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
(David Zalubowski/Applications)
Lebron James was the recipient of one gorgeous pass from Doncic, streaked early into the basket, with Lob scored 25 points. Austin Reeves scored 23 points and Louis Hachimura scored 21 points. In particular, the pass to James showed some of the possibilities that exist for the Lakers (34-21).
“It takes a little while, but I saw that I had some of them in the first game,” Donsic said. “So I’m happy to have my first alley with him.
“…Next time he’s going to throw it at me.”
The Lakers’ defensive game plan was just as impressive as the offensive onslaught. They forced 20 turnovers by Tamura, James, Dorian Finney Smith and Vanderbilt ruthlessly denying Jokic.
“In order for us to succeed, we must trust our game plan to ultimately win in the long term,” James said. “We have to trust and dial in with attention to detail. We are now able to really lock in to our game plan…and Become very strategic about how we want to do offensively and defensively.
The Lakers had LeBron James dunks against the Nuggets in the first half.
(David Zalubowski/Applications)
Coach JJ Reddick admitted he was extremely excited by the challenges the Nuggets are presented to know that they have dropped 13 of their final 14 games against Denver.
Problem solving is part of coaching and is most appealing to Reddick, while Denver and Jokic have been the Lakers’ biggest issues of the past two seasons. As part of an interview with the Lakers, Reddick was asked to break the film for the Lakers Nuggets game.
It’s clear that the game means Redick.
“I told the group this, there are certain moments you’ve ever stood up throughout the season, and since we left the Court in Portland (Thursday), I’ve barely ever slept. I did,” Reddick said. “And I spent a lot of time on this game. Our staff spent a lot of time on this game. I imagined our peers playing hard. They said I was They played harder than they could have imagined. They fought tonight. And those are two things that stood out.”
Jokic only shot seven times. He finished with 13 rebounds and 12 points in Denver (37-20).
The Lakers gathered shots for Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon, and even if both players made them, the Lakers continued to commit to their plans.
“It was elite,” Vanderbilt said. “As long as I stick to the game plan, and even when the game plan didn’t go down our path, they hit some shots, so even when Gordon and Russ hit the couple, they hit a few shots, so the game plan was me. Even when we didn’t go down our path, we talk about putting it together. We’re off the T-Game Plan.”
Lakers Trail Denver is only one game in the third Ross column in the West.
“I don’t remember when I last won here,” Donsic said. “It’s very difficult to play against this team. To win that way, it’s a great victory for us and gives me the confidence to move forward.”
