Kobe Bryant Leads Lakers Over Nuggets, 111-107

The Denver Nuggets squandered a 13-point halftime lead on Tuesday, but a rally by the Los Angeles Lakers and 31 points from Kobe Bryant led the visitors over the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center, 111-109.

Kobe Bryant‘s 31 points on the night tied a season high for the soon to retire veteran guard, leading the way for Los Angeles, who had five players score in double figures. Kobe Bryant shot 10-22 from the field, but was also 9-11 from the charity stripe. Despite his age and perceived obsolescence in today’s game, Kobe Bryant continues to prove teams wrong, exploiting porous defenses.

The Denver Nuggets controlled the first half of Tuesday’s contest against the Lakers, holding a significant lead at the break. In what is becoming an increasingly distressing trend, the Denver Nuggets squandered a sizable advantage to an inferior opponent — at home. Similar to what occurred two nights ago at the Pepsi Center against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Denver Nuggets could not find a way to stop an opponent on the road with a worse record.

The Denver Nuggets began the first quarter in great fashion, and finished the period with 34 points. The Nuggets increased their lead in the second period, scoring 30 points in the quarter to lead 64-51 at the half. Then, the team became complacent, giving the Los Angeles Lakers a chance to rally and get back into the game.

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Kobe Bryant and the Lakers outscored the Denver Nuggets 32-16 in the third quarter, taking a 3-point lead going into the fourth period of play. The Nuggets briefly regained their lead in the fourth quarter at 86-85 by way of a Randy Foye layup, Lou Williams put the Lakers back on top at 87-86 with a long jumper. With 8:42 left in the quarter, the Nuggets quickly got the lead back as Darrell Arthur made a 2-point shot, giving Denver an 88-87 lead.

The Denver Nuggets lead with 8:42 remaining the fourth was the final lead of the night for the home team, as DeAngelo Russell sank a long 3-point shot to give the Lakers a 90-87 lead — one they would not relinquish. The closest the Denver Nuggets would get was at 103-100, as Gary Harris made a 3-pointer with 2:38 remaining. Kobe Bryant would make two important free throws soon thereafter, as well as a 2-point shot with 1:23 remaining to seal the game in the Lakers favor.

For the Denver Nuggets, Will Barton once again led all scorers with 25 points, 2 days after a career high 32 against New Orleans. Barton shot 10-21 from the field, recorded 8 rebounds and 2 assists, and had a team high +/- of +15 on the night. Gary Harris got the start at the shooting guard position for Mike Malone’s team, scoring 21 points on 9-15 shooting, but was -8 on Tuesday. Kenneth Faried also had a notable performance, scoring 14 points and notching 9 boards. Nikola Jokic scored 15 points off the bench.

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Perhaps the biggest deficiency for the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday that led to their demise against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers is the disparity of free throw attempts between both teams. The Los Angeles Lakers had 32 attempts on the night, making 24 of them, while the Denver Nuggets had only 19, swishing 16 of them. Without the ability to get to the charity stripe as often as the visitors, the Lakers were afforded key points at the line when the game was close (example A when Kobe Bryant made two key free throws to extend the lead to 105-100).

Danilo Gallinari sat out on Tuesday for the Denver Nuggets after injuring his ankle on Sunday against the Pelicans. Galinari is leading the Nuggets in scoring at 17.3 points per game. Tuesday’s loss is the third consecutive defeat for the Denver Nuggets, who now fall a full 2 games behind the Utah Jazz for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Next: Denver Nuggets Host Lakers on Tuesday

The Nuggets won’t have long to dwell on their loss to the Lakers, or the fact that Kobe Bryant torched them for 31 points on Tuesday, as they travel to Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix to face the Suns on Wednesday evening.

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