The Lakers faced off against the Nuggets, Jokic made 15 of 23 shots, got 32 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals, beating thick eyebrows, who shot 12 of 23, 32 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. It is worth mentioning that only Prince scored 11 points on the Lakers bench, and no one else scored, and Vincent and Dinwiddie both swallowed eggs.
The Lakers have suffered an eight-game losing streak against the Nuggets, including being swept in the Western Conference finals last season and the regular season this season.
Before the start of this series, the most worrying aspect of the Lakers is their interior line. Jokic played 12 minutes in the first quarter and finished with 11 points and three rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting (0-of-1 from three-point range and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line).
At the end of the first half, Jokic played 19 minutes and 37 seconds, shooting 7-of-10 from the field, 0-of-1 from three-point range, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, scoring 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Fortunately, the thick eyebrows withstood it, and he played 22 minutes and 31 seconds in the first half, shooting 7 of 11 and 4 of 4 free throws, and got 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.
At the end of the third quarter, thick eyebrows had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and their performance was not inferior to Jokic, but the rest of the Lakers were in mediocre state in the third quarter, and the Nuggets exploded 32-18 in a single quarter, opening up the difference.
One of the biggest reasons for the Lakers' defeat was their bench, which was significantly different from the defending champions. Compared with the Nuggets, only Prince was scoring on the Lakers bench, and Vincent played 4 minutes and committed 3 fouls, which was a disaster.
Of course, the bigger reason for the defeat was head coach Hamm. The third quarter collapsed, Hamm had no emergency solution, and the on-the-spot command was completely abused by Zhuge Ma Long. There was also a hilarious scene during the Lakers' timeout, when the team was having a heated discussion and Ham disappeared without a trace. It looks like the manager is being "elevated".
Jokic, meanwhile, took over the game, and although the thick eyebrows were not down in stats, they were far from dominant. In the end, the Lakers also lost on the road and suffered a black start.