After a brief home stay, the Los Angeles Lakers kicked off their annual Grammy road trip by heading out to the mountains to see the Denver Nuggets for NBA Rivalry Week.
The Lakers and Nuggets have rebuilt their rivalry the past few years with multiple playoff battles, so there was plenty of motivation for both teams when they clashed in primetime. Los Angeles caught a break as Denver was without Nikola Jokic who has been rehabbing a knee injury, though the rest of their team has picked up the slack in his absence.
Even without Jokic, the Nuggets have had no problems scoring and that was the case against the Lakers as they couldn’t miss from anywhere on the floor. Los Angeles has been a porous defensive group throughout the 2025-26 season, but even they couldn’t have hoped to slow down Denver who got whatever they wanted despite the coverage.
The Lakers went into halftime trailing, but the script completely flipped in the second half as they suddenly were able to sustain extended stretches of defensive excellence. Thanks to a couple of large runs, Los Angeles was able to pull off the comeback against Denver and win 105-107. They allowed just 36 points in the second half after 71 in the first half.
Luka Doncic remains one of the best offensive engines in the league midway through the 2025-26 season and his talents were on full display against Denver. Doncic is historically one of the best first-quarter scorers ever and he made sure L.A. never got to far behind as he went toe-to-toe with Denver.
Doncic had full control of the Lakers’ offensive flow, moving the basketball around while staying aggressive. While Luka was forced to give up the basketball more in the second half, he made up for it with his effort as a playmaker and rebounder.
Doncic finished the night with a triple-double of 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with two steals.
With the Nuggets sending more help Doncic’s way, Marcus Smart stepped up in the fourth quarter to make them pay. Smart hit several clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter while giving his full effort defensively.
Smart was the catalyst for the Lakers’ comeback, finishing the evening with 15 points, two rebounds and one assist.
LeBron James got off to a slow start, but also found his way late in the second half. With Doncic on the bench to begin the fourth, James kept Los Angeles within striking distance both as a scorer and playmaker.
James ended the night with a near-triple-double of 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers continue their road trip on Thursday, albeit it back near home, against the L.A. Clippers before playing the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
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