The offense went dark as the night got late.<\/p>\n
After shooting the lights out in the first half, the Nuggets scored fewer points in the second half (36) than they did in the first quarter (37) in a 115-107 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday night at Ball Arena. The Nuggets went 3 for 17 from 3-point range after halftime with two of those makes coming after the Lakers created a 12-point lead in the final three minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got great looks,\u201d Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said.<\/p>\n
Murray scored 26 of his team-high 28 points in the first half. In the second half, the Lakers blitzed Murray and forced him to give up the ball. Denver failed to take advantage of the 4-on-3 edge created by the Lakers\u2019 defensive adjustment.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was going there,\u201d Nuggets coach David Adelman said of the first half. \u201cHe finished with 11 assists for the right reason. I\u2019ll take the shots that we shot in the first half and made that we didn\u2019t make in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n
A lot of the stats favored the Nuggets. Despite being outrebounded by 20 without Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas, the Nuggets took four more shots from the field and generated 12 more attempts from 3-point range by committing just five turnovers as a team. Peyton Watson was the only Nuggets player who committed multiple turnovers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shot creation, it got a little ugly late. I thought we got tired,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cI thought early in the third\u00a0throughout early in the fourth even, I thought the shots were good shots that didn\u2019t fall. The defense there, we got tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 10 assists bothers me,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cHe was scoring a lot in the first half, but I thought guys were getting into him, doing the best they could, and then we were getting out and playing and attacking him. As the game went on, I thought he sprinkled in what he does really well, which is pass the ball. Then, other guys started to score in a lot of different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
LeBron James added 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Marcus Smart (15) was the only other Laker in double figures.<\/p>\n
Watson and Aaron Gordon added 18 points apiece for the Nuggets, while Spencer Jones added 16. Tim Hardaway Jr. led the reserves with 10 points but scored six of those on free throws and went 0 of 8 from 3-point range. The Nuggets played just eight players in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you lose, you always look back and second guess yourself,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cMaybe I should\u2019ve played a ninth person. Does that mean the other guys have better legs? I have no idea, but maybe. Maybe it takes away a few minutes from someone, but this is what it is, man. We just have to fight through this, and we got to find ways to win games. That\u2019s the bottom line. We\u2019ve done that. We know we\u2019re capable of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
LAKERS 115, NUGGETS 107<\/p>\n
What happened: Denver led by nine after the first quarter and owned a 71-57 advantage at halftime. The Lakers closed within two points by the start of the fourth and completed the comeback in the fourth, dropping Denver to 29-15.<\/p>\n
What went right: Denver made six of its first seven attempts from 3-point range and made 12 of 20 3s in the first half. The Nuggets cooled off after halftime but still outscored the Lakers by 15 off 3s.<\/p>\n
What went wrong: The Lakers became the latest team to dominate Denver on the glass. Los Angeles used a 51-31 advantage on the glass to finish with a 15-4 advantage in second-chance points.<\/p>\n
Highlight of the night: The final minute of the second quarter provided a couple of options. Aaron Gordon threw down a reverse alley-oop from Jamal Murray with 35 seconds left. Then, Murray buried a shot from beyond half court at the buzzer.<\/p>\n
Up next: The Nuggets start another road back-to-back Thursday in Washington.<\/p>\n
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