LOS ANGELES — Things were supposed to be different this time.
As the Los Angeles Lakers met at shootaround ahead of their Saturday matchup with the Denver Nuggets, coach JJ Redick acknowledged the recent history between the two teams, facing it head on.
Entering the game, Denver had won 12 of the 13 previous matchups, including eliminating the Lakers in the 2023 and 2024 playoffs. The games often followed a familiar script, with the Lakers hanging around until the Nuggets eventually distanced themselves — often in crunch time — through a mix of shotmaking, execution, size and chemistry.
But Redick also emphasized to his group the Lakers could beat the Nuggets with the right tactical adjustments, attention to detail and competitive spirit. Players embraced the messaging and said they viewed the rematch as a signifier of how much they had improved since last season.
This was a new season. The past was the past. Or so they hoped.
As has been the case in the recent Denver-Los Angeles matchups, history repeated itself no matter the Lakers’ efforts. This time, the Nuggets blitzed the Lakers 37-15 third quarter, turning a six-point halftime deficit into a 16-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Denver extended their lead twice in the fourth quarter to 20-plus points and ultimately prevailed 127-102 — the Nuggets’ largest win over the Lakers during this stretch of dominance. Los Angeles dropped to 10-6 and 7-2 at home.
The Lakers have now lost 13 of 14 games to the Nuggets.
“Tonight, they beat the s— out of us,” said Austin Reaves, who led the team with 19 points and six assists.
The Nuggets did so despite missing starting power forward Aaron Gordon — who has been a giant thorn in the Lakers’ side with his offensive rebounding, finishing and defense against LeBron James — and being on the second night of a back-to-back after a heartbreaking loss to Dallas.
The Lakers, meanwhile, got back starting small forward Rui Hachimura, who had missed the last four games with a sprained ankle, adding size and scoring to the frontline. But it didn’t make much of a difference as the Lakers were overwhelmed by Nikola Jokić (34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists) and Michael Porter Jr. (24 points and 11 rebounds), who shredded their defense and controlled the glass en route to the blowout victory.
“It was just bad overall,” Davis said of the Lakers’ performance.
The Lakers were adamant postgame that the one-sided nature of the recent matchups didn’t creep into their minds when Denver went on their second-half run. But it was difficult to believe that when multiple troubling trends from the previous tilts.
Jokić outplayed Davis, who scored just 14 points on 6-for-19 shooting. D’Angelo Russell once again struggled (seven points on 2-for-9 shooting), adding to the list of his subpar performances against the Nuggets. Russell and LeBron James (18 points, six rebounds and seven assists) both left the arena without speaking to the media.
James had six turnovers and has 36 over his previous six games (6.0 per game). Denver dominated the glass (48-32) and points in the paint (64-40). They also scored 31 points on 15 Lakers turnovers (and 26 fast-break points, though the Lakers surpassed them with 27).
But more disheartening for the Lakers, their heads dropped and their spirits crumbled. The Nuggets grew in confidence, calling back to all of the big runs and shots they have made before (especially in Crypto.com Arena). The home crowd grew quiet and tense.
The Nuggets punched the Lakers in the mouth, and the Lakers immediately folded, accepting what’s seemingly become their inevitable fate in these matchups.
“I have a pretty clear idea of what happened in the third,” Redick said. “But whatever it was, it was not because we were haunted of the ghosts of the past or something like that. It was kind of obvious to me what happened there. Just not the right spirit.”
Davis, in particular, had an uncharacteristic off-night. He’s been spectacular this season, playing at MVP and first-team All-NBA levels (30.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals on 55.6-40.6-78.1 shooting splits). But he struggled against Jokić in a manner he hadn’t since opening night of the 2023-24 season, leading to Davis’ worst game of this season.
Davis became too jump shot-happy, settling for contested looks instead of attacking the rim with the same determination he often does. Once he was out of rhythm, he tried to force things inside with running layups and floaters, and Denver’s size and length was able to stymie him.
Jokić will almost always be the best big man (and player) on the floor against the Lakers, but the Lakers need the gap between Davis and Jokić to be closer than it was on Saturday.
“I just missed shots. I think all great looks,” Davis said. “It’s a miss-or-make league. I’ll make more than I’ll miss, for sure. You always wish you can make every shot. I’m confident in every shot I took. They’re shots that I normally make. All of us, to be honest. Shots that that we all normally make, we just missed. But I like every shot that I took tonight. They just didn’t go in.”
The loss led to Redick to say that he and his coaching staff need to take a deeper look at figuring out how to fix the Lakers defense, which ranks 27th in defensive rating as of Sunday.
The Lakers’ switch-heavy defense has far too often allowed opponents to successfully target mismatches. Denver was able to get smaller players switched onto Jokić and slower players switched on Murray, triggering additional help and rotations from the Lakers defense that eventually led to open 3s, cuts into space and driving lanes.
“Some of coaching is playing whack-a-mole,” Redick said. “… Me and my staff will take some ownership on that as well. It’s not just, players not executing the game plan. It’s all of us. We’re all on the same team. We all want the same outcome. We all want to be a good defensive team. So we’ve got to figure out that together.”
The Lakers will also eventually need to figure out the Nuggets if they want to advance through the postseason. If this game indeed was a measuring-stick game for the Lakers, it’s clear they still have a ways to go as the gap between these two teams is as large as ever.
(Top photo of LeBron James: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
