It’s no secret the Los Angeles Lakers have struggled all year long to make the playoffs. For four-time NBA champion LeBron James and All-Star big man Anthony Davis , though, there were a couple of reasons why they fell to the Denver Nuggets and lost Game 1 to them.
After going through the Play-In Tournament, the Lakers found themselves losing to Denver with a score of 114-103 . Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic looked stellar when he dropped 32 points on 15-of-23 shooting, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Jamal Murray made 22 points and 10 assists, while Michael Porter Jr. added 19 points and eight boards.
For his part, Davis led Los Angeles with 32 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. James posted 27 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. Meanwhile, both D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves contributed 13 points each, with the former shooting a horrible 30 percent from the field.
The win took Denver one step closer to eliminating James and the Lakers from the playoffs. With the Nuggets finding their momentum after the All-Star break, Los Angeles will have to play twice as hard to keep up with the defending champions.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis Gets Real On Why Los Angeles Lakers Lost Game 1 to Denver Nuggets
After the game, both James and Davis spoke to reporters about why they lost Game 1 to the Nuggets. In a series of posts by Mike Trudell and Lakers Nation on X:
“LeBron James says the Nuggets “made shots” in the third quarter and the Lakers were just “not very good offensively,” Lakers Nation tweeted.
“Anthony Davis cited “Early turnovers, poor shooting to start the 3rd” and Denver’s offensive rebounding as key factors in the loss. Davis was terrific individually in Game 1: 32 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, 4 blocks,” Trudell shared.
“Anthony Davis: “We can’t be bad at both defensive rebounding and transition (defense).“ Lakers lost the offensive glass battle 15-6, and the transition battle 21-14. Denver took great care of the ball (6 TO’s) to help the transition difference,” He added.
Jokic has been a force to be reckoned with on the court all season long. This prompted Trudell to mention what Davis will do against the Nuggets’ All-Star.
“We’ll look at it and make our adjustments, talk among ourselves and just kind of see… We’ll make the proper adjustments going into Game 2, if I have to be on him the whole game then so be it,” Trudell posted.
As pointed out by Lakers legend Magic Johnson, the team’s guards should do a better job of getting buckets for themselves. Otherwise, Davis and James will have to do all the work, which won’t be enough against the Nuggets.
With their work cut out for them, James and the Lakers will have to go up against the odds to beat Denver in this series. Add Jokic and company’s brilliance on both ends of the court, and it’s going to be an uphill battle for them.
