The Los Angeles Lakers had an opportunity on Thursday to not only win their fourth game in a row but also make a statement with a road victory over the Denver Nuggets. Their previous three wins came against inferior competition, and they have badly needed wins against teams with winning records.
This game started out on a bad note for the Lakers. They gave up the first 11 points of the game, and they would trail by as many as 13 points in the first quarter, as they couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn offensively. A 12-0 run allowed them to come to within three points in the second quarter, but Denver quickly regained control and led 64-54 at halftime.
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Los Angeles made a couple more runs in the second half, and it came to within one point with just over two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t able to string together enough stops during critical junctures, which resulted in a 120-113 loss.
The Lakers had more points in the paint, made 3-pointers, fast-break points and bench points while forcing 18 turnovers. But they were outrebounded by nine and attempted only 15 free throws compared to 31 for Denver. They were able to harass Nikola Jokić into nine turnovers, but he also registered a triple-double with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists.
Over the last three years, the Nuggets have simply had L.A.’s number, as this was their 15th win over LeBron James and crew in their last 19 attempts, including the playoffs.
Deandre Ayton: Incomplete
After logging five minutes of playing time, Ayton left the game and didn’t return due to knee soreness. He went scoreless and had two rebounds before his exit.
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Marcus Smart: C-plus
Smart wasn’t able to slow down Jamal Murray in the first half, who scored 20 points during that time and 28 points on the night. Offensively, Smart committed four first-half turnovers, but he hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter to help get the Lakers back in the game.
He ended up playing 32 minutes and finished with nine points on 3-of-9 overall shooting and 3-of-6 from 3-point range, one rebound, two assists and one steal.
Austin Reaves: B
Reaves got off to a quiet start with just four points on 2-of-5 shooting. He perked up in the third quarter with nine points, and he ended up with 16 points on 6-of-11 from the field, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and no turnovers.
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While he was efficient in this game, the Lakers simply needed more scoring from him, especially in the first half when they fell behind.
LeBron James: C-plus/B-minus
The Lakers also needed more scoring from James. He had 16 points on 7-of-11 from the field, and late in the first quarter, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most made field goals in NBA history. He started to pile up some assists in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and ended up with eight of them, plus five rebounds, three steals and one block in 34 minutes.
In the fourth quarter, James took a nasty spill after making a layup and appeared to hurt his elbow. He exited the game and returned shortly afterward, but that will be something to watch, especially since the Lakers play again on Friday against the Indiana Pacers.
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Luka Doncic: B/B-plus
Doncic scored 15 points in the first half and 12 more in the third quarter, but he went scoreless and missed all five of his shot attempts in the fourth quarter. Overall, he shot 11-of-24 from the field and 3-of-10 from downtown and only attempted four free throws, but he also contributed 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals, and he was fairly active in pursuing the basketball defensively.
He picked up his 15th technical foul of the season in this game, and that is important, as the NBA automatically gives players who reach 16 technicals on the season a one-game suspension.
Jaxson Hayes: A
Hayes was forced to play a lot more than usual — 27 minutes, to be exact — and he gave the Lakers exactly what they needed from him offensively. He scored 19 points and made eight of his 10 shot attempts, and he moved well without the ball and got multiple dunks. He also got five rebounds and added two assists.
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Rui Hachimura: A-minus
Coming into this game, Hachimura hadn’t scored more than 10 points in a game since Feb. 12. But he converted six of his nine shot attempts and four of his five 3-point tries in this game, giving him 16 points. He also chipped in two rebounds, three assists and one steal, and at times, he played some active and effortful defense on Jokic, even if it wasn’t effective enough.
Luke Kennard: B/B-plus
Kennard went 3-of-6 from the field and made two of his three 3-point attempts to score eight points in 20 minutes. But he didn’t have any other statistical contributions in this game, and this was the type of game where it would’ve helped if he had been a little more aggressive in terms of looking for his shot.
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Jake LaRavia: D-minus
LaRavia has been inconsistent offensively all season, and Thursday’s game was an example of him at his nadir. He missed each of his first five shot attempts and ended up 1-of-6 from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, resulting in just two points.
Had LaRavia been on point offensively and gotten into double digits in scoring, perhaps the outcome of this game would’ve been different.
Jarred Vanderbilt: Incomplete
Vanderbilt got four minutes of playing time in this game and contributed one rebound.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. ends winning streak with loss to Nuggets
