Denver Nuggets rip Los Angeles Lakers 127-102 to continue remarkable recent record against them

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Lakers coach J.J. Redick slammed his team’s lack of “spirit to compete” after Nikola Jokic scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Lakers 127-102 on Nov 23, continuing their recent dominance of the rivalry.

The Nuggets (9-6) won for the 13th time in the last 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting them in the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs in the past two seasons.

However, Redick insisted that record did not play on his players’ minds, saying: “I have a pretty clear idea of what happened in the third (quarter). But whatever it was, it was not because we were haunted by the ghosts of the past or something like that.

“It was kind of obvious to me what happened there. Just not the right spirit.”

The Lakers (10-6) were outscored 37-15 in the third quarter, essentially settling the contest.

Earlier, Redick has also hit out at his players, saying: “Schematically, certainly we’ll have to review some stuff. Clearly, the spirit to compete just wasn’t there.”

Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11 rebounds, Jamal Murray had 14 points and Russell Westbrook had 14 points and 11 assists.

Denver outscored the Lakers 70-39 in the second half to run away with the contest, giving Michael Malone his team-record 433rd regular-season coaching victory with the Nuggets.

“The biggest thing is we won,” Malone said. “I loved how we came out in that third quarter. We got stops. We got out and ran.

“And then the players – I’m not the coach I am without the guys like Nikola, Jamal... and everybody that has come through that door.”

Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 19 points, while LeBron James added 18 and Anthony Davis, second in NBA scoring this season, had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and Damian Lillard added 31 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Charlotte Hornets 125-119, stretching their winning streak to four games.

Despite a career-high 50-point performance by Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, the Bucks improved to 8-9, reviving from a poor start.

“The way we started the season was rough,” Lillard said. “We’re starting to play the kind of basketball we wanted to play coming into the season.

“Now we’re starting to feel good about ourselves, on offence and defence.”

Greek star Antetokounmpo added 11 rebounds and six assists, while Ball had 10 assists for the Hornets.

Brandon Miller, who had 32 points and 11 rebounds, sank a three-point shot with 15 seconds remaining to lift Charlotte to within 121-119. But Taurean Prince and Antetokounmpo added two final free throws to seal victory.

Elsewhere, French star Victor Wembanyama had 25 points, seven rebounds and nine assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 104-94 win over Western Conference leaders the Golden State Warriors.

The Spurs also had 22 points from Harrison Barnes, 19 by Stephon Castle, plus nine points and seven assists from ex-Golden State guard Chris Paul.

“A bunch of guys stepped up and made big plays for us,” Barnes said. “Good team win. Any time you win games like this, win together, win the way we want to do it, it’s big for the confidence.”

San Antonio outscored the Warriors 33-13 in the final quarter to rally for the victory, improving to 9-8 while Golden State fell to 12-4.

The Warriors, who shot only 36.9 per cent from the floor, were led by 20 points from Andrew Wiggins and 14 from Stephen Curry.

In Chicago, Scotty Pippen Jr – the son of Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen – scored 30 points and added 10 assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies over the Bulls 142-131.

Pippen topped eight double-figure scorers for the Grizzlies (10-7), while Zach LaVine led the Bulls (7-11) with 29 points.

Said Pippen: “It’s a dream come true. It’s crazy to say I put up 30 and 10 in the gym where my dad had played.” AFP