Jokic and Murray lead Denver’s domination over visiting Lakers
Feb 15, 2021, 9:28 AM
The Lakers came into Denver on Sunday night with a seven-game winning streak and an opportunity to extend it to eight in front of a national audience on ESPN. They left the Mile High City limping — literally — after the Nuggets gained a measure of revenge against a Lakers team that embarrassed them only two weeks ago.
After big man Anthony Davis left the game at halftime with Achilles’ tendon soreness, the Nuggets romped, turning most of the second half into garbage time and chasing the Lakers out of Ball Arena with a lopsided, 122-105 loss.
Nikola Jokic led the way with his sixth triple-double of the season, and Jamal Murray added 25 points in a pair of performances reminiscent of their time in last season’s playoff bubble. The Nuggets were without Will Barton on Sunday due to personal reasons, and they lost Paul Millsap at halftime to a sprained knee, but Denver didn’t miss a beat after leaping out to a 73-61 halftime lead.
The Nuggets were off to the races after that, with Facundo Campazzo (15 points, four assists) and Zeke Nnaji (16 points, three rebounds) joining Jokic for major minutes on the court. The emergence of Nnaji and fellow rookie R.J. Hampton has become a significant story for Denver, as coach Michael Malone has been looking for both stability and a spark off the bench — and getting it from the youngsters.
The Nuggets limited the Lakers’ deadly transition game by turning the ball over only nine times on Sunday, and their steady performance from wire-to-wire has the Nuggets hitting on all cylinders as they take to the road this week for a four-game trip that starts in Boston on Tuesday.
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NEXT UP: Nuggets (15-11) at Celtics (13-13) | Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 5:00 p.m.
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TEAM NOTES
• The Nuggets held LeBron James to only three points in the second half, and head coach Michael Malone gave much of the credit to rookie Zeke Nnaji, whose physicality and length seemed to bother James as he unsuccessfully tried to lead a comeback without Anthony Davis, who didn’t return after halftime with Achilles’ tendon soreness.
• The Mile High City hasn’t been kind to visitors’ winning streaks this season. The Nuggets ended the Lakers’ seven-game winning streak on Sunday at Ball Arena, only two weeks after ending Utah’s eleven-game run in Denver.
• In the last four games in which the Nuggets played a team with a winning streak of seven games or longer, they’ve won them all by double digits. According to STATS, Inc., the Nuggets joined the Celtics — who won nine straight such games between 1960 and 1966 — as the only two teams to ever do so.
• The Nuggets have won three straight games, and the bench unit’s production has been a big reason why. On Sunday, the Nuggets’ bench scored 46 points behind Zeke Nnaji (16 points) and Facundo Campazzo (15 points).
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PLAYER NOTES
• Nikola Jokic logged his sixth triple-double on the season against the Lakers, scoring 23 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and handing out 10 assists. Jokic was a force all night, and after Anthony Davis left which an injury, the Lakers had no answer whatsoever for the Nuggets’ star.
• Jamal Murray is starting to look like his old, bubblicious self again. Murray scored 25 points on an efficient, 7-for-15 shooting night, and led the team in plus-minus with a plus-27.
• Zeke Nnaji continued to shine with increased playtime, going 4-for-5 from the three-point line and scoring a career-high 16 points while playing impressive defense against LeBron James in the second half. Nnaji is 9-for-15 (60.0%) from behind the arc this season.
• Will Barton missed Sunday’s game due to personal reasons. Monte Morris started in Barton’s place and scored 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting to go along with three assists. Facundo Campazzo got increased minutes off the bench as a result, and matched his career-high with 15 points.
• Paul Millsap suffered a sprained left knee and didn’t return after halftime on Sunday.
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THE FINAL WORD
“‘Facu’ es un buen jugador!” — Head coach Michael Malone, in Spanish (“‘Facu’ is a good player!”), on Facundo Campazzo’s 15-point outing on Sunday.
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INJURY WATCH
• Paul Millsap (left knee sprain) didn’t return after halftime on Feb. 14.
• Gary Harris (left thigh strain) left the Jan. 31 game and did not return. He is day-to-day.
• P.J. Dozier (right hamstring strain) has been out since Jan. 26. He is day-to-day.
• Greg Whittington (left knee) underwent arthroscopic surgery on Jan. 19 and was expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
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ROTATION (MINUTES)
Starters:
G Jamal Murray (34)
G Monte Morris (30)
F Michael Porter, Jr. (30)
F Paul Millsap (16)
C Nikola Jokic (35)
Bench:
G Facundo Campazzo (26)
F-C Zeke Nnaji (24)
G R.J. Hampton (20)
F-C JaMychal Green (14)
F Vlatko Cancar (6)
C-F Isaiah Hartenstein (3)
G Markus Howard (1)
C-F Bol Bol (DNP-CD)
