Latest News: Following an 8-point loss to the Nuggets, Darvin Ham awards the Lakers an unusual grade…
The excitement in the Crypto.com Arena was palpable on Thursday night when the Los Angeles Lakers (27-26) and Denver Nuggets (36-16) squared off before the unveiling of the Kobe Bryant statue. Even though they played with a grit and toughness that the Mamba would likely respect, they were defeated 114-106 by the reigning NBA champions.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was happy with the effort and awarded his squad an A+ for “their competitiveness and the way they competed against Denver.” It appears that moral wins do occur in the NBA.
With 29 games remaining in the regular season, fans want to see a noticeable improvement, and Ham’s remarks of that nature will only make him more divisive to them (did win three in a row before this contest). There are advantages to the loss, though, if one want to maintain the joyous atmosphere of the evening.
Lakers press the Nuggets but are unable to close
In addition to scoring a game-high 32 points on excellent 14 of 27 shooting, Anthony Davis also pulled down nine rebounds, blocked four shots, and stole three steals. LeBron James, with a line of 25/9/7, also had a well-rounded performance. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, the score was knotted at 104 thanks to the two stars’ contributions to the Lakers’ ability to stay up with the Nuggets in the fourth quarter. However, the suspense was put to rest when Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray combined for a 10-0 scoring run to seal the game on the road.
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