On March 2, the Denver Nuggets handed the Los Angeles Lakers yet another humbling loss, taking the Lakers down 124-114 in Los Angeles.
Including last year’s Western Conference Finals sweep, this was Denver’s eighth consecutive win over the Lakers.
On a night when LeBron James became the first player to surpass 40,000 career points, he summarized the evening with four simple words according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha: “They have our number.”
For the Lakers, the worst part is they’re prepared for the ways Denver is going to attack them — or at least try to be.
It just doesn't make a difference.@jovanbuha on the déjà vu being felt by L.A. after an eighth consecutive loss to the Nuggets.https://t.co/322b5QUJmE pic.twitter.com/B15kIF2bBu
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 3, 2024
The Lakers held the lead for most of the game until Denver outscored them 66-48 in the second half, including a devastating 16-4 run with five minutes left in the fourth quarter to close the game.
Nikola Jokic continued his dominance of the Lakers as LA opted to have Anthony Davis roaming off the ball most of the night, posting 35 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.
Michael Porter Jr. also shot 10-10 for 25 points and 10 rebounds.
LeBron’s comments should come as no surprise, as this game followed a similar trajectory to what we saw in the Conference Finals last year.
The Lakers can hang with the Nuggets for 42 minutes until Denver finds a way to finish them down the stretch.
LA currently sits at 33-29 and has the 10th seed in the loaded Western Conference.
They are currently in the midst of a stretch where the team does not have to leave the state of California for a full month, as it’s only game outside of Los Angeles from February 25 to March 25 is in Sacramento.
A favorable stretch of games like this one is exactly the time for the Lakers to make a push to move up the standings, so an eighth straight loss to Denver is a crushing defeat.
NEXT: Darvin Ham Reacts To Lakers' Loss To Nuggets