Davis hurt again, but Lakers still down Nuggets behind LeBron, Westbrook

LeBron James scored 30 points and Russell Westbrook had a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a first-half injury to Anthony Davis and earned a 126-108 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Friday, December 16 (Saturday, December 17, Manila time).

Thomas Bryant scored 21 points for the Lakers, who played the entire second half without Davis after the All-Star forward injured his right foot in the first quarter and still played eight minutes in the second period.

Davis finished with 10 points and 4 rebounds in 17 minutes.

The Lakers closed the third quarter on a 26-9 run after they trailed 79-67 with 8:03 remaining in the period. Los Angeles pushed its advantage to 112-95 with 6:08 remaining in the game after 6 consecutive points from Bryant.

Nikola Jokic scored 25 points with 11 rebounds and 8 assists, while Jamal Murray added 23 points as the Nuggets saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. The loss came in Denver’s only road contest of a seven-game stretch.

Even with Davis hobbled, the Lakers hardly wavered against one of the top teams in the Western Conference. The Nuggets trailed 33-32 after one quarter but went on a 20-2 run in the second quarter to lead 57-48. However, the Lakers fought back to trail by only one point, 65-64, at halftime.

The Lakers outscored the Nuggets 29-23 in the third quarter behind 10 points in the period from Dennis Schroder to take a 93-88 advantage.

With the game well in hand, James left with just over two minutes remaining, having recorded his third consecutive game of at least 30 points.

Austin Reaves scored 16 points for the Lakers, while Schroder had 15 and Patrick Beverley added 10. Westbrook’s triple-double was his second of the season.

Aaron Gordon scored 17 points for the Nuggets, while Bruce Brown added 11 as Denver missed out on becoming the first Western Conference team with 10 road victories.

The Lakers’ bench outscored the Nuggets’ reserves 58-23. – Rappler.com