The Lakers beat the Nuggets 127-125 in an overtime thriller. LA now owns the tiebreaker over Denver.
Clutch plays by LeBron and Reaves sent the game into OT. While both teams played the extra five minutes with tired legs, Deandre Ayton’s four points helped Los Angeles heavily in the period. Luka put the icing on the cake with a clutch game-winning fadeaway jumper.
The game began with Jamal Murray draining a 3-pointer, but soon after, the Lakers started heating up with Marcus Smart draining one himself. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves converted on two triples each, leading to an early seven-point lead for LA.
Denver called a timeout, and out of the break, Nikola Jokić turned the ball over, leading to Reaves scoring in the paint on the other end.
Los Angeles lead started to fade as the Nuggets scored five in a row, but LA’s hot shooting continued as they went on an 8-0 run. Rui Hachimura had a nice start with four points off the bench.
Reaves and Luka combined for 20 of the 29 points the Lakers had on the board with 2:18 left in the quarter. Tim Hardaway Jr. drained a three and Smart responded with his second of the quarter.
At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by eight.
Smart opened the second period with another 3-pointer for Los Angeles. LeBron James then exploded for five points, further expanding a big lead for LA. After a wide-open bank shot in the paint for Reaves, Denver called a timeout.
Out of the break, Bruce Brown scored on a layup.
The Lakers were shooting an impressive 47% from behind the arc and a total of 58% from the field. LeBron was up to seven points in the quarter. A quick 5-0 run from Denver made it a 14-point game with 4:53 left.
Luka turned the ball over leading to Christian Braun scoring on a dunk, pushing their run to seven in a row. Smart responded with a floater in the paint to stop the run. The Lakers then went on their own 7-0 run to keep a big lead.
At halftime, LA was up by 11.
The third period began just as the second did, with Smart draining a three for the Lakers. Aaron Gordon responded on the other end with a midrange jumper. Gordon scored again on a jumper, giving him an early four points in the quarter. After they had gotten the deficit down to 10, LA took charge and extended their lead to 14.
Deandre Ayton finally looked more engaged, scoring four points.
Hardaway Jr. was up to 12 points off the bench. Cam Johnson knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the night. Denver cut the deficit to nine. The Nuggets were shooting 61% in the third, while Los Angeles was shooting 47%.
The Lakers suddenly found themselves up by just three, after six in a row from Jokić.
LA had their response with Reaves and Luka combining for four, but Denver countered with six more to make it a three-point game again. Los Angeles had 1:31 left to build more cushion on their small lead.
A surge of five points from Bruce Brown tied the game at the end of the third.
Hardaway Jr. put the Nuggets in the lead to start the final frame with a triple. Reaves responded with a runner down the paint. Hardaway Jr. scored again, pushing his total to 17 for the game. The Lakers went back up by two after scoring five in a row.
Both teams kept taking turns with tying and taking the lead.
Gordon, who also had 17, drained a 3-pointer to put the Nuggets back in the lead with 7:27 left in the game. Denver pushed their lead to eight, but Los Angeles cut it to four on the shoulders of Reaves and free throws from Jaxson Hayes.
Another three from Gordon pushed the lead back to seven with 3:28 left. Hayes was sent to the line once more, converting on one of two free throws. Luka drained a much-needed 3-pointer to make it a three-point deficit.
Luka was then fouled from behind the arc, converting on all three free throws to tie it at the 1:57 mark. Gordon then knocked down another three to put the Nuggets up by three. Reaves scored on a layup to make it a one-point game with 1:11 left.
Smart then put his incredible defensive presence on full display, stealing the ball and going straight to the basket for the layup. The Lakers were now in the lead by one with 46 seconds left.
Hardaway Jr. then drained another 3-pointer, putting Denver up two. LA had the opportunity to score, but the Nuggets stole the ball, and Gordon was fouled, converting on one free throw only.
With 9.9 seconds left, Los Angeles would have a chance to either tie or put up a quick two to end up playing the foul game. Reaves was fouled and made both free throws.
Johnson was sent to the charity stripe and converted on both free throws with 6.4 left. Denver fouled Reaves, and he converted on one free throw and missed the second. He grabbed the rebound and swished a jumper, tying the game. The Nuggets had no time to score, so the game went into overtime. This is LA’s first overtime game of the year.
The overtime began with Jamal Murray, who had an atrocious game, fouling out. Ayton scored the first points for LA with a jumper. Braun was fouled and converted on both free throws for Denver’s first points of OT with 2:36 left. There were lots of tired legs running back and forth for each team.
Ayton then scored on a hook shot in the paint to put the Lakers back up by two with 57 seconds left. Gordon knocked down a triple to put Denver back up by one. Smart responded with a 3-pointer on the other end to put LA back in the lead by two with 30 seconds left.
Jokić tied the game with a layup with 15 seconds left in OT. Luka converted on a fadeaway jumper that gave the Lakers the win!
Luka finished with a triple-double of 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. Reaves notched 32 points with seven rebounds and six assists. Lebron had 17 points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Smart pitched in with 21 points, three rebounds, two assists and five steals. Hachimura scored six points off the bench. Ayton pitched in with nine points, nine rebounds and two assists.
The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Houston Rockets on Monday at 6:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
