Winless no more: Lakers shed the donut at home, get first win over Nuggets, 121-110
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Mon, 31 Oct 2022
(San Leandro, California) - The once mighty Lakers may have started the season on the wrong foot and quickly slid to 0-5. Tonight, however, the entire LA squad, including their first-year head coach Darvin Ham, will sleep well into the night, and perhaps wake up on the right side of the bed having gutted out an unlikely win against the rising Denver Nuggets.
Playing in front of a capacity crowd at the Crypto.com Arena that earlier saw basketball hall-of-famer George Mikan’s jersey retired in the rafters, the vaunted trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook finally looked their part(s).
In a contest that had 7 ties and 7 lead changes, the Lakers notched their first victory that can only turn their season around, but not without early troubles.
After struggling offensively earlier this season, the Lakers tonight led 55-51 at half-time.
All night, LA made thirteen 3-pointers and led as much as 13 points.
LeBron James filed a workmanlike 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists.
What spelled the difference, for a change, was the return of Anthony Davis who scored LA’s first seven points as his teammates stumbled early despite easy looks and opportunities. Davis piled in 23 points, 15 rebounds and 2 assists.
Off the bench, Russell Westbrook provided a jolt of energy as he scored 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
The Lakers secondary unit contributed as follows: M. Ryan (F)6 pts., W. Gabriel (F) 4 pts., A. Reave (SG) 10 pts., K. Nunn (G) 3 pts..
As a team, LA shot 47.9% FG and 43.3% 3PT.
Their counterpart, the Denver Nuggets shot 42.7% FG and 37.5% 3PT.
Nikola Jokic (C) led the mile-high team with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists. Michael Porter, Jr. (SF) scored 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist. A. Gordon (PF) contributed 18 points and 6 rebounds.
Highlights and Video Courtesy of the NBA.
Team Stats and Figures (Courtesy of the NBA)
Upcoming:
Nuggets: Three days til Thursday against the Thunder in Oklahoma
Lakers: Hosts the Zion Williamson and the New Orlean Pelicans on Wednesday.
