The Los Angeles Lakers not only had a chance to win their fourth straight game on Thursday, but they also made a statement with a road win over the Denver Nuggets. Their previous three wins have come against inferior teams, and they desperately need a win against a team with a winning record.
This game got off to a bad start for the Lakers. They gave up their first 11 points in the game, and they trailed by as many as 13 points in the first quarter because they couldn’t hit the wide side of the barn on offense. A 12-0 surge in the second quarter allowed them to narrow the point difference to within 3 points, but the Nuggets quickly regained control of the situation and led 64-54 at halftime.
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Los Angeles scored a few more points in the second half and pulled within one with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. However, they failed to connect enough stops at the critical moment and ultimately lost 120-113.
The Lakers scored more points in the paint, more three-pointers, fast-break points and bench points, while also forcing 18 turnovers. But they were outrebounded by nine and shot just 15 free throws to Denver’s 31. They harassed Nikola Jokic into nine turnovers, but he also had a triple-double with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists.
The Nuggets have just had Los Angeles’ number for the past three years as they beat LeBron James and Co. for the 15th time in their past 19 attempts, including the playoffs.
Deandre Ayton: Incomplete
Ayton left the game with knee soreness after playing five minutes and did not return. He was held scoreless and had two rebounds before exiting the game.
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Marcus Smart: C-plus
Smart couldn’t slow down Jamal Murray in the first half, and Murray scored 20 points in that period and 28 points on the night. Offensively, Smart made 4 turnovers in the first half, but he hit two three-pointers in the third quarter to help the Lakers regain the score.
In the end, he played 32 minutes, making 3 of 9 shots and 3 of 6 three-pointers, scoring 9 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal.
Austin Reeves: B
Reeves got off to a quiet start, scoring just 4 points on 2-for-5 shooting. He recovered 9 points in the third quarter, and finally scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and no turnovers.
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While he was efficient in this game, the Lakers just needed more scoring from him, especially after falling behind in the first half.
LeBron James: C+/B-
The Lakers also need more scoring from James. He scored 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar late in the first quarter for the most field goals made by a player in NBA history. He started dishing out some assists in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, finishing with eight assists in 34 minutes, plus five rebounds, three steals and one block.
In the fourth quarter, James made a serious mistake after a layup and seemed to have injured his elbow. He left the game and returned shortly after, but it will be something to watch, especially considering the Lakers will face the Indiana Pacers again on Friday.
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Luka Doncic: B/B+
Doncic scored 15 points in the first half and another 12 points in the third quarter, but he failed to score a point and missed all five shots in the fourth quarter. Overall, he made 11 of 24 shots, 3 of 10 inside shots, and only made 4 free throws. However, he also contributed 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals, and he was also quite active in chasing the ball defensively.
He received his 15th technical foul of the season in this game, which is important because the NBA automatically gives a one-game suspension to players with 16 technical fouls this season.
Jackson Hayes: A
Hayes was forced to play more minutes than usual — 27 minutes to be exact — and he gave the Lakers what they needed offensively. He scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, moved well without the ball and dunked multiple times. He also had 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
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Rui Hachimura: A-
Entering this game, Hachimura has not scored more than 10 points in a game since February 12. But he made 6 of 9 field goals and 4 of 5 three-pointers in this game, scoring 16 points. He also contributed 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. At times, he played some active and hard defense on Jokic, although the effect was not enough.
Luke Kennard: B/B+
Kennard made 3 of 6 shots and 2 of 3 three-pointers in 20 minutes, scoring 8 points. But he didn’t have any other statistical contributions in this game, and in this type of game it would help if he was a little more aggressive in finding shots.
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Jake LaRavia: D-Minus
Laravia’s offense has been inconsistent all season, and Thursday’s game was an example of him hitting rock bottom. He missed his first five shots and ended up going 1-for-6 from the field, 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, and only scored two points.
If Laravia had kept the ball on offense and scored in double digits, maybe the outcome of this game would have been different.
Jared Vanderbilt: Incomplete
Vanderbilt got 4 minutes of playing time in this game and contributed 1 rebound.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player results: Los Angeles loses to Nuggets to end winning streak