Denver Nuggets Cream L.A. Lakers Big Time
The Denver Nuggets crew handed the LeBron Lakers the largest defeat ever on the way to continue proving dominance, not just in the West but league wide.
I’m not going to glaze over the pure joy watching this game was. The Denver Nuggets came to win and they did just that. The Lakers giving the Nugs their first loss of the season certainly earned them this game but the Denver boys were just on fire.
Defense was the name of the game again and the Nuggets half-court defense was smothering, only allowing the Lakers the most contested shot attempts. The Lakers were already struggling so a bunch of contested jump shots probably wasn’t in the cards.
The L.A. boys tried to keep up the scoring in the paint for better success. LeBron James and Brandon Ingram were both good for 14 points and Kyle Kuzma tried to save the day with 21.
The Nuggets held the Lakers to under 100 making it the fifth time this year they have achieved this. The lead the NBA in that statistic. More proof for the defense pool. Tears in their eyes I guess.
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Paul Millsap continued to be irreplaceable on both ends. He has brought a toughness and physicality that has been a force and seems to have led the Nugs to their defensive oppressiveness. I don’t know if he is the inspiration for what looks like a surge in defensive energy and blocked shots for the Nuggets but Mason Plumlee and Nikola Jokic have definitely picked up the cue.
Three Nuggets had 20 point nights, Millsap, Jamal Murray, and Malik Beasley. The Joker had 14 and Juan Hernangomez had 12. This shows such beautiful diversity in the shooters and scoring on this team. It’s going to be really exciting to see them push forward towards post-season.
We missed Gary Harris for the second consecutive game but we want him well and strong when he comes back.
Nuggets do not return to play until Friday when they begin a 5 game road trip at Portland.