After a wave of five consecutive defeats, the Lakers have stood on the edge of the playoff cliff, and the initiative to enter the playoffs is no longer in the hands of the Purple and Gold Army. With five games left in the regular season, the Lakers can only win as many games as possible. The Lakers' opponents, the Nuggets, also have a mediocre recent record in this game, and there is a risk of falling into the playoffs. So for both sides, it's a game that can only be won. In this game, James was again absent due to a knee injury, and the Lakers lined up westbrook, Munch, Bradley, Anthony Davis and Howard to start the lineup.
In the first quarter of the game, the Lakers made a good start. Defensively they disrupted the Nuggets offense in a row, while the offensive end inflicted damage under the basket. Anthony Davis, who returned from the last game, was in excellent form, scoring nine consecutive points. The Borings' MVP candidate Jokic hit back strongly, scoring eight consecutive points to close the score. Although Anthony Davis' ankle was again problematic in the game and went off early, the Lakers' bench played well and continued to extend the score to eight points. At the end of the first quarter, Cousins continued to crush the Lakers' interior line with his body. The Lakers led 28-24.
After the start of the second quarter, the Lakers continued a good offensive form, but they have not been able to effectively limit Cousins' strong play on the defensive end. In the middle of the second quarter, Anthony Davis re-emerged and continued to play on the defensive end. The Lakers also seized the opportunity to hit a 7-0 mini-surge to extend the point difference to six points. Although the Lakers have stretched the point difference to eight points several times, the Nuggets have recovered the point difference with tenacity. In the final moments of the second quarter, a reckless foul on Munch gave the Nuggets three free throws. In the end, the Lakers trailed the Nuggets 61-62 at halftime.
After the start of the second half, Anthony Davis' physical condition improved significantly. He led the Lakers to consecutive games and completed several wonderful connections with Howard to widen the point difference. In the middle of the third quarter, both sides accelerated the pace of attack and defense, and the score alternately rose, and both sides failed to pull the point difference apart. At the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets hit three consecutive three-pointers to extend the point difference to five points, and Vogel had no choice but to stop. Late in the third quarter, Westbrook came on to score consecutive points to narrow the gap to one point. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers trailed the Nuggets by one point 94:95 and entered the final quarter.
After the final quarter of the game, both sides played with a bench-based lineup. However, compared to the Nuggets, the Lakers' bench lineup is less offensively efficient, and the point difference has gradually widened. In the middle of the final quarter, the Nuggets hit an offensive climax to stretch the gap to 11 points. At the end of the game, the Lakers struggled to score points with the personal abilities of davis and Westbrook stars. Although both stars had a good performance in this game, the Lakers could not limit the Nuggets on the defensive end, which led to the delay in narrowing the point gap. With a minute left in the game, Jokic's key frontcourt rebound helped the Nuggets establish a nine-point lead and the game lost suspense. In the end, the Lakers lost to the Nuggets 129:118 at home, suffering six consecutive losses.
After losing this game, the Lakers have fallen behind the tenth place Spurs in the Western Division rankings, and have basically lost the possibility of entering the playoffs and playoffs with only four games left in the regular season. After a bad season, the Lakers now have to sort out the summer reinforcement ideas as soon as possible. Westbrook, while modest in the early and mid-season periods, was fairly good at the end of the season. Whether to keep the Big Three and try another season, or to overturn it as soon as possible, it will be decided by the Lakers as soon as possible. After all, James is 37 years old, and the contract with the Lakers is only one year away. What do fans and friends think the Lakers should do this summer? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!