LeBron James created more history, but his Los Angeles Lakers colleagues couldn’t offer the Hollywood ending.
The superstar became the first NBA player to reach 40,000 points, but the Denver Nuggets defeated the Lakers 124-114 on Saturday night.
The Lakers’ storyline was familiar in many respects. The Nuggets have now defeated the Lakers eight times in a row, including the playoffs from last season.
Despite James’ impressive performance (26 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals) and Anthony Davis’ double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks), the Lakers struggled against Nikola Jokić (35 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) and Jamal Murray (24 points, 11 assists).
That two-man game scorched the Lakers relentlessly down the stretch. Following the game, Lakers supporters expressed frustration via social media:
The Lakers played admirably for much of the night, but in crunch time, their defense crumbled, and the defending champions outscored them 35-25 in the fourth. The bench minutes were ineffective; while every Lakers starter scored 17 or more points, the bench contributed only 12 points, compared to 20 by Denver’s reserves.
The Nuggets (42-19) have won six straight since the All-Star break and appear to be preparing for another lengthy postseason run. Meanwhile, the Lakers (33-29) fell to 10th in the Western Conference, securing the final Play-In Tournament berth.
Their berth in the Play-In is likely safe unless they have a massive meltdown, with the Utah Jazz 5.5 games behind them in the standings. However, a team with LeBron and AD is projected to finish higher than 10th in the West.
The Lakers won the bubble title with James, but the team has been a failure overall throughout his tenure in Los Angeles. That is not LeBron’s fault; he has maintained to play at a high level despite being 39 years old. Saturday night was an apt metaphor for his time in the City of Angels.
