Denver Nuggets bringing healthier bunch to LA Lakers showdown

LOS ANGELES – While both the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers won their most recent National Basketball Association (NBA) games with impact players missing, only one team are expected to have their stars back when the sides meet in Los Angeles on March 19 (March 20, Singapore time).

The Lakers still are without LeBron James (groin) and Rui Hachimura (knee), but the Nuggets are likely to have Nikola Jokic (ankle, elbow) and Jamal Murray (ankle) on the court.

Both Denver stars sat out on March 17 against the Golden State Warriors, as did Christian Braun (foot), but the Nuggets still pulled off a 114-105 road victory over one of the NBA’s hottest teams.

While the debate rages on whether they should have rested so much firepower for a nationally televised game, Nuggets coach Michael Malone found a lot to like about the performance.

“You don’t have the three-time MVP (Jokic), who’s (scoring) 30 points a night. You don’t have Jamal Murray, who’s 20 points a night. You don’t have (Braun), who’s the No. 1 transition player in the league,” he said.

“Well, that means we’ve got to play hard, we’ve got to play desperate, we’ve got to play urgent, and we did that for 48 minutes. Our guys left it all on the court.”

He will be looking for more of the same against the Lakers.

The Nuggets (44-25) share second place in the Western Conference with the Houston Rockets, but have just a one-game lead on Los Angeles (42-25). Despite their win over the Warriors, Denver have wobbled of late – going 3-3 since March 9 – while earning a 131-126 home victory over the Lakers on March 14.

The Lakers not only were without James and Hachimura at Denver last week, as Luka Doncic (calf and ankle soreness) and big man Jaxson Hayes (knee) also sat out.

The team bounced back from the loss with two victories – 107-96 over the Phoenix Suns on March 16 and 125-109 over the San Antonio Spurs the next day. They were in control throughout against the Spurs and led by as many as 28 points.

“I think it was 48 (three-point attempts) and 34 were uncontested,” Lakers coach J.J. Redick said.

“Our offensive decision-making and consistency where we had four really good offensive quarters was great.”

Doncic found ways to contribute with 21 points, a warning to the Nuggets that he is still good even as his shooting touch has yet to fully return after a long layoff from a Christmas Day calf injury.

The Lakers’ trade-deadline addition made an impact with 14 assists and nine rebounds to nearly notch a triple-double.

“People start learning that at some point in the game, they’re going to double-team me,” Doncic said. “I accept that, and I like playing that. It saves my energy. We just get to play four on three. Guys are doing great out of that.”

Denver have a 2-1 lead over Los Angeles heading into the final game of the series. Counting play-off games, the Nuggets have won 14 of 16 matchups with the Lakers dating back to January 2023.

Meanwhile, in action on March 18, Ivica Zubac scored 28 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 33 points and the Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to four games with a 132-119 victory over the NBA joint-best Cleveland Cavaliers (56-12) in Inglewood.

James Harden posted 22 points and nine assists and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 20 points as the Clippers (39-30) improved their home winning streak to seven games.

Kristaps Porzingis and rookie Baylor Scheierman stepped up as NBA champions Boston Celtics shook off the absence of star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-96 at home.

Porzingis connected on an efficient nine of 13 shots from the floor on the way to a game-high 25 points, 13 rebounds, a steal and three blocked shots.

Scheierman scored 12 of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, as the Celtics finally pulled away in a game in which they struggled to find their offensive footing without the rested Brown and Tatum. REUTERS, AFP