The Nuggets lost 120-108 to the Lakers on Wednesday in a game that Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and LeBron James missed due to injuries.
The Nuggets are 1-1 on the road without Jokic and Murray this week, still an overall win under the circumstances as they head to Portland next. They made a 31-9 run in garbage time Wednesday to trim a 30-point deficit all the way to eight with 40 seconds left.
Luka Doncic got traded to the Lakers?
How exactly did that happen, again? Doncic eviscerated the Nuggets’ hope for a second consecutive unlikely win before it could even materialize. The ex-Maverick made seven of his first eight shots to single-handedly outscore Denver 20-16 in the first seven minutes and change, taking a variety of defenders off the dribble and pulling up for a 30-footer at one point.
The Nuggets’ first-quarter defense is the second-worst in the league, and they certainly didn’t do anything to help themselves while giving up 46 to Los Angeles. But even if they had, Doncic might’ve been in one of his un-guardable modes. He finished the night with 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Reminder: He wasn’t a Laker two months ago.
Turnover mania
The Lakers are a bottom-10 team in the league at scoring off turnovers, but Denver gave them a ton of freebies early in this game while digging a massive hole.
Doncic’s rest minutes at the start of the second quarter should’ve been the opening for the Nuggets to start chipping away. Instead, they turned it over on four consecutive possessions to start the frame in a 90-second span, leading to a 7-0 run. It was 53-29.
Between the last two games, Denver has coughed it up 38 times.
MPJ’s involvement
Denver’s pecking order without Jokic and Murray was fascinating in these two California games. On one hand, Aaron Gordon’s outside shooting continues to be one of the most remarkable developments of this season for the Nuggets. After a 38-point outburst at Golden State, he scored another 26 on Wednesday, making five 3-pointers and bringing his career-high efficiency up to 46.3%. His general assertiveness this week has also been encouraging given the injury-littered nature of his season.
On the other hand, there was no reason for Michael Porter Jr. not to be equally empowered and aggressive in these games. In San Francisco, he attempted 10 shots in the first quarter then eight across the last three. In Los Angeles, he took six in the first quarter then four the rest of the game. (He didn’t play in final quarter.) At the defensive end, the Lakers made a point to hunt him, like last time.
That Porter seemed to disappear from Denver’s offense for prolonged stretches was a failure to take advantage of the situation by him, his teammates and Malone. There should have been enough shots to go around for the team’s leading scorer among the active players.
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