The Los Angeles Lakers collapsed in the third quarter of their blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, a familiar outcome for a team that they have lost to 13 of the last 14 times they’ve played. It wasn’t a good night for virtually anyone on the Lakers, including Anthony Davis, who finished with 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting.
But it was the third quarter that was the cause for concern leaving the night for L.A. After leading 63-57 at the half, the Lakers were outscored 37-15 in the third frame. They couldn’t get anything going on offense and the Nuggets were able to do whatever they wanted on that end of the floor.
Davis spoke about what went wrong in the third quarter, saying that it was a little bit of everything.
“Defensively, we were bad in the third quarter,” Davis said. “We weren’t making shots, and we scored 15 points in the third. That was the game right there. We were giving up a lot of backdoors that we weren’t giving up in the first half. Maybe we go back to a zone or set defense. We just [have to] score the basketball.”
The Lakers star believed that the ease at which the Nuggets were scoring led to the team’s frustration in the quarter.
“I think it was just the frustration part. I mean, we were giving up so many backdoors to start the third, open 3s. Our defense on Michael Porter coming off, we were getting screened and he was making shots.
“When you play so well in the first half and then we come out like we did in that third quarter, giving up backdoors and 3s that were wide open, it’s definitely deflating. It’s not our defense. Then to combat that you go down and can’t make a shot so when it rains, it pours. We just got to be better on both ends of the floor.”
However, one thing Davis dismissed is the idea that the Lakers are deterred by the weight of their history against the Nuggets.
“Because of this team? No. I mean, I personally don’t. I’m not sure about anyone else, I don’t think it does,” Davis said. “But, no, I think we just got to be better on both ends of the floor. We had multiple games this season where we played well in the first half and second half, we don’t, but we still found ways to win. Guys still made shots.
“You know, 15 points in the third quarter is not going to cut it against anybody. And then our bench players came in at the end and made shots. But we only had, I think, 15 or 17 in the fourth as well. So we did a terrible job tonight in our offensive execution and making shots. And I think us not making shots kind of had us unorganized on the defensive end as well.”
The Lakers have not had any true collapses like the one they had on Saturday night this season. Hopefully, the Nuggets provide a learning lesson for L.A. as they look to get back on track after two straight defeats.
JJ Redick: Lakers weren’t haunted by ghosts of past games vs. Nuggets
Similar to Anthony Davis, head coach JJ Redick refused to believe that the Lakers struggled because of their previous troubles with Denver, instead reiterating the team’s overall lack of competitive spirit in the second half.
“I had a pretty clear idea of what happened,” Redick said. “But whatever it was, it was not because we were haunted by the ghosts of the past or something like that. It was kind of obvious to me what happened there. [It] was just not the right spirit.”
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