Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick was proud of how his team competed in their 131-126 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Friday. The Lakers were without LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and a host of key role players but still nearly came away with the win, and Redick praised the group in his press conference.
“I’m proud of the group for their level of fight and resiliency,” Redick said. “Particularly, not getting off to a great start there in the second half. Our transition defense was pretty bad for six minutes on and then fighting back and taking the lead. There’s a lot we could have done better, but the group competed tonight and gave ourselves a chance to win.”
Due to all the injuries, a lot of the reserves got to play big minutes against the Nuggets, and Redick commended two of them for stepping up when called upon.
“The spirit was great,” Redick said. “I think it’s been that and will continue to be that. It was a good opportunity for a number of guys to play bigger minutes. Shake (Milton), in particular, [and] Christian (Koloko) defensively in the second half was awesome. So, happy for those guys that they played well.”
Shake Milton had 16 points (7-11 FG), five rebounds, three assists, and one steal on the night, while Christian Koloko put up eight points (4-7 FG), seven rebounds, two assists, and a block. They combined for 24 of the 36 points that the Lakers got from their bench.
While the reserves made some key contributions, the stars of the night for the Lakers were Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht. With Doncic and James out, all eyes were on Reaves, and he didn’t disappoint. The 26-year-old had 37 points (13-26 FG), eight rebounds, 13 assists, and four steals against the Nuggets.
As for Knecht, he recorded 32 points (13-27 FG), two rebounds, and an assist on the night. All of these contributions helped the Lakers come close to recording what would have been arguably the most unlikely win of the season.
The Lakers got off to a fast start against the Nuggets, leading 40-32 at the end of the first quarter. The hosts eventually managed to wrestle back control, however, and led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter.
You’d have thought that was it for the Lakers, but they clawed their way back and led 126-123 with less than a minute left in the game. A surprising win was very much on the cards, but the Nuggets would go on a 6-0 run to take a three-point lead with just over five seconds remaining in the contest.
The Lakers had a chance to send this game into overtime, but Russell Westbrook stole Milton’s inbounds pass. Westbrook then put the exclamation mark with a dunk to all but end the game.
The Nuggets handed the Lakers their fourth straight loss, and they have dropped to 40-25 this season. Redick needs at least some of his injured players to return if he is to steady the ship, and it will be interesting to see if any of them are back for the next game against the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday at 3:30 PM ET.
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