Down two starters, Nuggets still wax Lakers at home

Jamal Murray couldn’t resist.

After hauling in an overhead pass in the second quarter, Murray’s pump fake sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope flying past him. Once he was out of the picture, Murray calmly laid the ball in and waved goodbye. The Nuggets breezed past the Lakers with similar ease on Tuesday, earning a 115-87 win to improve to 14-7.

Denver — down two starters in Will Barton (hip/core surgery) and Gary Harris (left ankle soreness) —  led by eight at halftime and blew the game open with a big third quarter. The Nuggets got contributions everywhere. Murray and Paul Millsap carried the scoring load with 20 each, and Denver’s reserves were excellent once again.

Mason Plumlee stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes. Malik Beasley hit a pair of 3s on his way to a career-high 20 points. Monte Morris played his usual brand of high-I.Q. basketball with seven assists to zero turnovers.

Denver outscored Los Angeles 59-35 in the second half as the Nuggets’ top-five defense held steady. The Lakers shot just 39.5 percent from the field and 5 for 35 from 3.

The Nuggets have won four games in a row after a stretch in which they dropped six of seven. They kick off a five-game road trip on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers.