National Basketball Association
Denver 125, L.A. Lakers 116
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, March 9, 2018
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Officials:
#10 Ron Garretson, #72 J.T. Orr, #55 Bill Kennedy
Attendance:
19807
By Field Level Media
Jamal Murray scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Denver Nuggets outlasted the Los Angeles Lakers for a 125-116 victory Friday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
Murray also tied a season-high by getting eight assists for the third time and a career high with four steals. He shot 5 of 12 from the floor and made 10 of 11 free throws.
Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap added 21 points apiece as the Nuggets finished the game with an 18-6 run in the final six minutes and improved to 13-2 when scoring at least 120 points.
Gary Harris contributed 19 points as Denver shot 50.6 percent, making 48.4 percent (15 of 31) from 3-point range en route to its 10th win in 15 games.
Brook Lopez all scorers with 29 points as the Lakers shot 48.9 percent.
Julius Randle added 18 points while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit five 3-pointers and contributed 17. Rookie Lonzo Ball finished with 15 points, eight assists, eight rebounds and four steals for the Lakers.
Los Angeles closed the third quarter with a 13-3 run to take a 96-94 lead and held a 110-107 lead on a 3-pointer by Caldwell-Pope with 6:03 remaining. Denver countered with a 9-0 run and held a 116-110 edge on a 3-point play by Murray with 3:23 remaining.
Consecutive hoops by Lopez made it 116-114 with 2:40 remaining but Millsap knocked down an open 3-pointer for a 119-114 lead with 1:43 left. After Thomas stole the ball from Murray, Ball missed a 3-pointer and Jokic tipped in Will Barton's missed 3-pointer for a 121-116 lead with 40 seconds left.
On the next possession, Millsap blocked Ball's floater attempt with 34.8 seconds remaining. The initial ruling was goaltending on Millsap but the call was reversed following a review.
Jokic then won a jump ball from Lopez and Murray hit two free throws with 29.7 seconds left for a 123-116 lead before hitting two more on the next Denver possession. Murray then clinched the win by intercepting Ball's pass intended for rookie Kyle Kuzma.
-- Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| L.A. Lakers |
|
Denver |
|
Brook Lopez 29 |
Scoring |
Jamal Murray 22 |
|
Lonzo Ball 8 |
Assists |
Jamal Murray 8 |
|
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 9 |
Rebounds |
Nikola Jokic 6 |
|
Julius Randle 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Jamal Murray 10 |
|
Lonzo Ball 4 |
Steals |
Jamal Murray 4 |
|
Brook Lopez 2 |
Blocks |
Paul Millsap 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| L.A. Lakers
|
116 |
48.9 |
14-35 |
12-16 |
25 |
44 |
6 |
8 |
16 |
| Denver
|
125 |
50.6 |
15-31 |
26-30 |
30 |
36 |
6 |
10 |
12 |
Upcoming Games
-
Denver will play their next game at home against Sacramento. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .457 after a win and .645 after a loss.
-
L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Lakers have a W/L % of .533 after a win and .371 after a loss.
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