The Los Angeles Lakers picked up their third win in a row after defeating the Denver Nuggets 120-108. This had major consequences on the battle for the No. 2 seed, as the Lakers are now tied for the position with the Nuggets and half a game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Luka Doncic put on a show, in the first quarter at least, ending the night with 31 points (10-21 FG), nine rebounds, and seven assists. He scored 21 in the first quarter, his highest-scoring quarter since joining the Lakers. Austin Reaves contributed 22 points (8-16 FG) with five rebounds and eight assists, putting the game away in the third quarter.
Fans were overjoyed to see the Lakers pull this win off even though the Nuggets rested Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
“Luka is really on the Lakers,” said one fan in disbelief as he was cooking the Nuggets in the purple and gold.
“All the non-Laker fans that were seriously talking about Luka declining I am laughing at you,” said another fan who mocked people who thought Luka was past his best version.
“Bron rested up for a playoff run while Luka playing himself into shape, they’re playing chess,” said one fan about how Luka’s presence is letting LeBron rest for longer.
“Nuggets fans wishing AD was still on the Lakers,” said one fan pointing out that this is a new Lakers core.
“Lakers got rid of D-Lo and the Nuggets haven’t really been a problem for them since,” said another fan reiterating the previous point, but with a different example.
“Luka has literally 20 points in 8 minutes. Unreal. He is unreal. But Nico Harrison thought he still wasn’t good enough,” said one bitter Mavs fan watching Luka excel on the Lakers.
The Nuggets tried riding Aaron Gordon to another win, with Gordon putting up 26 points (9-14 FG) and 11 rebounds. No other Nuggets player even cracked 15 individual points, with Jalen Pickett coming off the bench for 14 points (5-9 FG) while established starter Michael Porter Jr. had a quiet night with just 12 points (5-10 FG).
The Nuggets were simply not competitive enough for the Lakers tonight. While both squads are short-handed, the Nuggets without Jokic have always looked like a shadow of the team they are when he’s on the court. Murray being unavailable on top of that was a double-whammy tonight.
The Lakers have proven clearly that their current roster is better equipped to beat the Nuggets even when healthy, making a potential Playoff rematch between these franchises with everyone healthy even juicier.
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