LOS ANGELES — — The Denver Nuggets continue to be a huge monkey off the LA Lakers’ back.
Jamal Murray led a balanced assault that helped the defending champions overcome the Lakers, 114-106, on Thursday night at the Crypto.com Arena where the hosts saw their three-game winning streak come to a screeching halt.
Murray finished with 29 points and 11 assists. Michael Porter Jr. added 27 and 8 rebounds while Nikola Jokic pitched in 24 and 13 rebounds. Aaron Gordon accounted for 11 markers.
The LA swing marked the Nuggets’ eighth win in 10 games.
And this one wasn’t easy as Denver squandered a 15-point lead in the second half before righting the ship in the fourth quarter where they edged the Lakers 31-27 run that included a 10-2 finishing kick late.
“Give them credit, they had all the momentum and they were attacking us,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “What I saw in that stretch was poise on offense and executing. To outscore that team 10-2 in the last few minutes, that means you’re defending at a high level and you’re rebounding.”
Hours prior to the huge Western Conference battle, the Lakers unveiled a 19-foot-tall bronze statue of Kobe Bryant outside their downtown arena.
To honor Kobe, the Lakers played Denver in their Black Mamba alternate uniforms and the evening was filled with Bryant tributes before the crowd began chanting “Kobe! Kobe!” in the waning moments of a close game.
Anthony Davis scored 32 points and LeBron James had 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves had 15 points and 10 assists.
“Definitely very frustrating,” said Jaxson Hayes. “A close loss like that, you make a good push there at the end, it’s always frustrating. … All of us know what time of year it is, and all of us know we need to lock in and get some more wins. I feel like there’s a sense of urgency from all of us.”
It was a tough night for the Lakers, who got out-rebounded 50-39. They shot 46.1 percent from the field (41-of-89) and 32 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-25).
The Lakers did not make moves at the league’s trading deadline, a position that David defended.
“This is our team, what we’re going to have, and once we get guys healthy, we can kind of get back into our groove,” Davis said.
