Los Angeles — An explosive first-quarter start pushed the Lakers momentum in their final matchup against the Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray-less Nuggets, beating Denver 120-108 on Wednesday night to finish 2-2 in their regular season series.
The Lakers extended their winning streak to three games, bouncing back from a three-game skid on last week’s road trip. The win pushed their record to 43-25 (third in the West) and 28-7 at home, marking their eighth straight win at Crypto.com Arena.
L.A. came out firing, delivering one of their best opening quarters of the season—led by a scorching Luka Dončić. At one point, Dončić single-handedly outscored Denver 20-17, finishing the first quarter with 21 of his 31 total points for his 200th career 30-point game.
His early dominance forced the Nuggets into blitzing him with doubles, which created open looks for his teammates with seven assists (nine rebounds) on the night.
“This is kind of what he does and has done throughout his career,” head coach JJ Redick said. “He’s not forcing things when they are double-teaming; he’s allowing the game to present itself and make the read.”
In March (eight games), Dončić is averaging 30.8 points, 9.5 assists, 9.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game while shooting 39.8% from deep.
With LeBron James and Rui Hachimura still sidelined (both listed as day-to-day), Austin Reaves continued his impact as the secondary option next to Dončić. Reaves delivered 22 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in 36 minutes.
The Dončić and Reaves backcourt has combined for 165 points in the Lakers three-game win streak, with the duo averaging 55 points.
“He plays the game the right way,” Reaves said. “He’s throwing it to the open guy and letting us play four on three.”
The Lakers capitalized, draining nine of their first 14 three-point attempts (64.2%) and building a commanding 46-29 lead by the end of the first quarter. L.A. Denver would get as close as 12 points after a lackluster second quarter that had L.A. go scoreless for nearly five minutes. Then L.A. extended their lead midway in the third after outscoring Denver 32-18 in the quarter.
They reached their highest lead (30) in the beginning of the fourth quarter and closed out Denver from then on, who emptied their bench midway.
Dorian Finney-Smith also played a key role in the starting unit, finishing with 14 points, four assists, and four rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting. He led the team with a +26 plus/minus.
The bench unit had three scorers in double figures (six total), with Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt continuing their punch with an efficient night on both ends. Vincent totaled 12 points on four-of-six from deep while Vanderbilt added 10 points and three steals in 18 minutes.
With their success at home, being a top-3 team in the NBA in wins at home, the question of trying to secure homecourt advantage was brought up with 14 games left in the regular season.
“We would all love to have homecourt advantage. It would be nice. Our group has been awesome at home so far,” Redick said. “But you got to play the next game and win the game in front of you. I’ve seen it too many times… You start messing around with things; the basketball gods will punish you.”
Next Game
The Lakers will see the Bucks next Thursday to end three straight sets of back-to-backs, the final meeting between the two. Milwaukee is coming off two losses, against Oklahoma City and the Warriors.
All-Time Record Between the Two
This was the 196th game between the two franchises, with the Lakers winning 115 of those games.
