Malone, Jokic ejected as Nuggets unravel in defeat
Stinging loss extends team’s road woes in first of back-to-back
LOS ANGELES» Nikola Jokic took issue with Rodney Mott’s officiating, after getting bumped in the back on an attempted tip-in with no foul called. Then an enraged Michael Malone charged the Staples Center court to spew some choice words in Mott’s direction as his assistants attempted to hold him back.
Seconds later, the Nuggets head coach and their star center were walking to Denver’s locker room to watch the rest of the contest on television. The back-to-back double-technical fouls issued to Malone and Jokic late in the second quarter encapsulated the way the Nuggets unraveled in a disastrous 127-109 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
The defeat extended Denver’s road woes so far this season, dropping it to 2-5 away from the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets are 9-7 overall heading into Monday’s contest at Sacramento on the second night of a back-to-back.
But the night had already turned into a Lakers rout long before Malone’s and Jokic’s emotions reached an apex.
The Lakers (7-10) outscored the Nuggets 38-22 in the second quarter, including an 18-2 run capped by a Julius Randle finger roll to push the Lakers’ lead to 20 points in the period’s first five minutes. A Lakers team that entered Sunday as the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting team (28.7) sank 12 of its 32 attempts from long range, including 7-of-18 in the first half. They also remained a dominant inside team, blasting the Nuggets for 70 points in the paint.
Rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, who earlier this month became the youngest NBA player to record a triple-double, recorded another with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. Randle scored a game-high 24 points and added seven rebounds off the bench, and Brook Lopez added 21 points.
Denver, meanwhile, committed 21 turnovers, which Los Angeles turned into 17 points. The Nuggets’ leaky defense allowed the Lakers to shoot 53 percent, their secondhighest mark of the season. And Denver played most of the game without both members of its starting frontcourt, as Paul Millsap did not return in the second half with a left wrist injury.
Earlier this week, Nuggets veteran Richard Jefferson explained the “numbers game” to reach the playoffs, which included going .500 or better on the road. At Sunday’s shootaround, Jefferson emphasized the importance of going at least 2-1 on this trip, starting with the back-to-back contests against teams Denver is “supposed to beat.”
Instead, Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld spent the second half barking orders from the sideline, while Malone and Jokic watched on television from the locker room.
That was the result of boiling emotions turning to ejections, which encapsulated the Nuggets’ disastrous night at Staples Center.