Troy Pierce | November 27th, 2018
The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets will meet for the second time this year, with the Lakers getting the W in their earlier match-up this season. Denver was victorious when the sides played each other in preseason, however. While they allowed Los Angeles to dominate the first half, the Nuggets were able to fight back from an 18 point deficit at the start of the second half. Poorly timed turnovers and fouls late in the game gave them just enough to escape with a 113-111 win.
The Lakers would win the second matchup lead by LeBron James, who put up 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists en route to a 121-114 victory. Despite the Lakers victory, Denver controlled much of the first half. Los Angeles could not find a way to stop Nikola Jokic and struggled to defend most of the night. Nevertheless, LA was able to go on a run to close the game thanks to a couple of well-timed threes and clutch free throws from the likes of Lance Stephenson and Josh Hart.
Since then, the Lakers have continued to push through their schedule and has gone 7-3 over their last 10 games. The addition of Tyson Chandler has helped improve team defense and rebounding as they stake their claim in the Western Conference. Chandler was not with LA for the teams’ previous matchups and will be a welcome addition as they look to stop Jokic.
Though Los Angeles has improved on defense, turnovers have become a cause for concern. The loss of Rajon Rondo has forced coach Luke Walton to find other solutions at point guard. Lonzo Ball has been aggressive with Rondo out and the team hopes that he cans continued to improve as Rondo works his way back to full health.
A win tonight would be vital regarding in the season series and, with valuable ground to be gained in the Western Conference, this is sure to be an intense matchup.
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