On January 16, Beijing time, the Nuggets played against the Lakers at home. Nuggets started the game: Morris, Barton, Gordon, Jeff Green and Jokic; Lakers starters: Westbrook, Bradley, Munch, James and Howard. Anthony had a sore back, didn't play last game, and continued to be absent today. Howard also had a knee injury and decided to play before the game.
The Nuggets' Rivers Jr. and Jamacao Green triggered a health and safety agreement and couldn't play this game. In addition, the Nuggets have a number of injured players out: Porter Jr. (back), Murray (knee) and Dozier (knee). The Nuggets are currently sixth in the West with 21 wins and 19 losses, and the Lakers are seventh with 21 wins and 21 losses, and the outcome of this game is crucial.
Only Howard in the Lakers can play against Jokic, and although he is not cured, this game still has to start the battle. In the 2020 Western Conference Finals, Jokic and Howard directly faced each other for 25 minutes and 44 seconds, and The teacher shot 7 of 15, with only 1 of 5 three-pointers and 5 turnovers. Recently, BR reported that the Lakers have evaluated the value of Howard's transaction.
Howard exploded in the first quarter, playing 10 minutes in a single quarter, shooting 5-of-6, scoring 11 points and 3 rebounds on 1-of-2 free throws, and those 3 rebounds were all frontcourt boards. Jokic, who was in position with him, made 3-of-4 shooting in a single quarter and had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Westbrook still didn't feel good, with 2 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists on 1-of-5 shooting in the first quarter.
In the first quarter, the Nuggets, who played at home, led the Lakers 34-29. The Lakers' restrictions on Jokic are not bad, but other Nuggets players opened up, and the Nuggets made 6 of 7 three-pointers in a single quarter! The Nuggets' joint defense has put a lot of pressure on the Lakers, and today the Lakers can't fight back, and the position war has come to a standstill.
The Nuggets' brightest player in the first half was Nashon Hyland, the No. 26 pick in the first round of 2021. Hyland shot 6-of-8 in the first half and scored 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting in three minutes. In the second quarter, he led the Nuggets to a wave of offensive climax, directly pulling the point difference into double digits. You know, Hyland's career-high score is only 24 points, and this season's average is only 8 points per game.
The Lakers were 6-of-12 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from Ariza in the first half, which was good. But the Opposite Nuggets made 11 of 16 three-pointers and shot 68.8 percent from three-point range, which is higher than the two-point shooting rate! Mr. Yo used his pulling power to lead his teammates on the outside, and he had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists on 6 of 8 in the half. The Nuggets had 19 assists in the half, while the Lakers had just 13.
The Lakers' defense today was poor, often giving the Nuggets big empty shots. At halftime, the Nuggets led the Lakers 73-60. Letting the opponent shoot down 73 points at halftime can already say a lot of things. Nuggets Barton 12 points, Jeff Green 11 points; Lakers James 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Howard 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 fouls, Westbrook 10 points.
Once Howard was out, the Lakers didn't have players under the basket to grab rebounds. Jokic is 26 years old, Howard is 36 years old, and he can't let Master Huo run with Him all the time. In the third quarter, Vogel replaced Jordan Jr. to give Howard a breather. Westbrook collided and fell with Gordon on offense, and the two got into an argument, each eating a technical foul.
The Nuggets' second-team counterattack is fast, the young people are full of vitality, and the Lakers are gradually unable to resist! In the third quarter, the Nuggets made 5 of 8 three-pointers and still maintained a super high shooting rate of 62.5%. Westbrook shot his first three-pointer of 2022, after six games, his three-pointers totaled 0-of-15. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers trailed by 23 points 79-102!
Munch and Reeves, who had played well before, were a bit crotch-pulling in this game, and the Nuggets were in full bloom. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the point difference reached 30+, the Lakers trailed by up to 42 points, and the game entered garbage time. Nuggets rookie Hyland played the strongest game of his career, scoring 6-of-10 from three-point range, scoring 27 points and 10 rebounds, and scoring and rebounding were career highs!
At the end of the game, the Nuggets beat the Lakers by 37 points 133-96! Seven Nuggets scored in double figures, with 10 players scoring all over the game. Jokic played just 28 minutes and scored 17 points, 12 boards and 13 assists on 7-of-12 shooting; Jeff Green shot 10-of-14 and cut down 26 points, 3 boards and 4 assists, scoring a new season high!
On the Lakers side, James scored 25 points, 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks, Westbrook scored 19 points, 5 boards and 3 assists on 7 of 15, Howard scored 13 points and 3 boards, and the other players scored single digits! The Nuggets shot 23-of-40 from three-point range, and the Lakers shot just 10-of-30!