Defense dooms Denver again, Lakers end Nuggets' three-game winning streak

Denver’s offense wasn’t an issue for the Nuggets in their 116-120 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, even without Nikola Jokic, who missed his second consecutive game with a left hip flexor strain. Yet, Denver’s defense, which has been a point of emphasis and peril all season failed them down the stretch as the Nuggets saw their three-game win streak snapped.

“A poor, poor defensive performance,” Michael Malone said. “Disappointing,”

A tightly-contested three quarters bled into a final frame where Los Angeles’ offense exploded. The Lakers outscored Denver by just one; 40-39 in the quarter, but Los Angeles shot 66.7 percent from the field in the fourth, paced by Lou Williams who scored 13 of his 21 points in the final quarter.

“We closed out to some of their shooters short,” Malone said. “We didn’t have high hands, they shot right over us. Just a lack of containment. A lack of contesting.”

That offensive onslaught was too much for Denver’s defense down the stretch as the Nuggets dropped to 21-26 on the year.

For Denver, Wilson Chandler led the way with 26 points off the bench on 10-20 shooting in 36 minutes. Kenneth Faried was solid, scoring 14 points to go with 16 rebounds. Rookie Jamal Murray scored 14 points off the bench on 5-12 shooting including a 4-8 showing from three-point land.

The Lakers were led by Nick Young, who poured in 23 points. His backcourt mate D’Angelo Russell scored an additional 22 while rookie big man Ivica Zubac was impressive scoring 17 points on 8-9 shooting to go with six rebounds in 21 minutes.

After not scoring their first basket until the 8:45 mark of the first quarter, the Nuggets finally got into a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. Throughout the first, it was Faried, who made his presence felt. The Manimal scored ten points on 4-5 shooting to go with nine rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end to pace the Nuggets.

Denver built off their 30-point first quarter with a 29-point second, where Chandler was able to get going. The swingman, who has struggled as of late, shooting just 5-20 over his past three games, scored 12 points in the frame on 5-8 shooting as the Nuggets took a 59-54 lead into the break.

Denver was able to shoot 44.2 percent from the field in the half and went an efficient 5-11 from three. The Nuggets outrebounded the Lakers 31-20 over the first two quarters helping them to their five-point halftime advantage on the back of Faried, who finished the half with 14 rebounds including five that came via the offensive glass.

The third quarter was the Young show. The 31-year-old, who’s enjoying a bounce back year statistically, carried Los Angeles in the third. Young scored ten points in the frame as the Lakers outscored Denver 27-17 in the quarter. The Nuggets shot just 5-20 from the field in the third allowing Los Angeles to take a five-point advantage at 81-76 into the fourth.

After a 20-5 Lakers run from the end of the third quarter through the early stages of the fourth, the Nuggets responded with a 15-0 run of their own to put Denver up six. But a fourth-quarter three-point barrage from Los Angeles put the Lakers in the driver’s seat entering the final minute of action.

After Faried went 1-2 from the line, to bring Denver to within one at 116-114, Russell was able to knock down two free-throws with 12.4 seconds remaining to put the Lakers up four, eventually enough to edge Denver 120-116.

Footnotes

Jokic (left hip flexor strain), Emmanuel Mudiay (low back pain) and Will Barton (left ankle soreness) did not play. This was Jokic’s second-consecutive game missed and Mudiay’s fifth. Barton was a surprise scratch. The left ankle is the same one that caused Barton to miss 11 games earlier this year.

What’s next

The Nuggets return to Denver and host the Grizzlies Wednesday and Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks Friday as the race for the eighth seed in the West continues.