Compared to how they’ve done on the road this season, the Los Angeles Lakers have struggled quite a bit this season at Staples Center, where they had collected four of their losses so far this season. But while it looked like the Denver Nuggets would again force the Lakers to feel the sting of a home loss early in Thursday night’s game, LeBron James delivered a dominant performance while the Lakers defense held down MVP contender Nikola Jokic to his worst game of the season as L.A. beat Denver, 114-93.
James had 27 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds, his second triple-double of the season, while Jokic had 13 points on six of 16 shooting, both season lows for Denver’s star center. The Lakers defense rarely allowed Jokic to isolate in the post, sending a second defender to his side and forcing the other Nuggets to beat them. In the first two and a half quarters, the Nuggets supporting cast was great but the Lakers outscored the Nuggets 37-17 in the third quarter, including a 15-0 run that began in the third and extended to the 4th.
