After winning a big win at home, the Nuggets, who ranked sixth in the West, took a break in the game, and the final battle of the regular season ushered in the challenge of the Lakers, who ranked eleventh in the West.
In terms of the Nuggets, head coach Malone is very cautious, taking a number of main players including Jokic + Aaron Gordon in rotation, ready to prepare for the next playoffs.
On the other hand, on the Lakers side, in the face of the final battle of the regular season, how the Lakers will end up has undoubtedly become a major attraction of this game!
However, after 4 quarters of play + 1 overtime battle, with a wave of 12-2 scoring climax, the Nuggets, although in the first three quarters, once overpowered the Lakers, achieved a huge advantage of 17 points.
But in the last quarter of the decisive moment, Munch ushered in an outbreak, new signing Mark McClon hit 3+1, Reeves then scored 5 consecutive points, leading the Lakers to play several waves of counterattack frenzy, successfully dragging the game into overtime.
In overtime, the situation on the court suddenly changed, Reeves took 7 points to take over the game, helping the Lakers build an advantage, while the Nuggets could not chase points, and had to lose.
The Lakers, who finally withstood the pressure, also reversed the Nuggets 146-141 on the road, which was worth the trip, and also won 2 consecutive wins to complete the final battle of the regular season!
Although the Lakers once fell into the disadvantage of falling behind by as many as 17 points, fortunately, the team did not mess up, but played a team performance of 6 people scoring in double figures, completing a big reversal.
In the case of Horton Tucker + Stanley Johnson + Gabriel + Ellington and other main players, each performing their own duties, the play of the two main players Munch + Austin Reeves is particularly critical!
In this game, Munch was full of firepower, starting 32 minutes, shooting 7 three-pointers on 25 shots and 14 in the middle and outer lines, and exploded a game-high 41 points, plus 4 rebounds and 1 assist.
Among them, his heroic performance of cutting 18 points in the last quarter, inside and outside the single quarter, not only provided a strong outside firepower and containment, but also stepped forward in time to lead the Lakers to fight back!
In addition, the game scored 41 points, Munch also set a new career single-game scoring record, and became the third Players to score 40 points in a single game this season after LeBron James and Horton Tucker!
Of course, the Lakers were able to reverse the victory over the Nuggets in this game, and the performance of the team's rookie Austin Reeves also played a crucial role.
Austin Reeves was well-defended, starting 41 minutes, shooting three-pointers on 7-of-17 shooting, and contributing 31 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
In the fourth quarter + overtime, the key play of single-rider to score 18 points not only completely disrupted the Nuggets' defensive rhythm and deployment, but also led the Lakers to complete the reversal almost single-handedly!
More importantly, after playing a triple-double performance of 31+16+10 in this campaign, Austin Reeves also became the first Lakers rookie with 30 points + triple-doubles in a single game after Jerry West, playing career night at the same time, but also setting a number of eye-catching personal records!
Rationally speaking, although the Lakers' performance this season is not satisfactory, the super cost-effective Malik Munch and the appearance of the losing draft Austin Reeves are definitely a big gain for the Lakers this season!
On the other hand, on the Nuggets side, the team failed to withstand the pressure in the second half of this game, and finally experienced overtime defeat, which obviously made it difficult for home fans to accept.
After all, in the case of Forbes + Marcus Howard playing well and cutting 20+ at the same time, the Nuggets generals who were dumb at the key moment of this campaign seemed to have no choice but to accept the reality of losing.
As for the Nuggets, who ushered in the return of Jokic + Aaron Gordon and other main players in the next playoffs, what kind of playoff performance they can play, we seem to have to wait and see!