Millsap, Jokic help Denver defeat L.A.
NUGGETS 125, LAKERS 116 Nuggets glad to see their dandy duo combine for 42 points
Nuggets public-address announcer Kyle Speller kept hollering “defense!” every time the Lakers brought the ball up the floor.
And for much of Friday night’s game, that command felt like a lost cause. The Lakers had clear paths to the basket and free space behind the 3-point line, helping them climb out of a double-digit, first-half deficit and keep regaining the edge when they traded baskets in the final period.
Then the Nuggets locked down just in time, using a fourthquarter push led by timely baskets — and a block — from Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic to escape with a 125-116 victory at the Pepsi Center.
“Once again, we wait for three quarters. But we defended (in the fourth). … This was a hard-fought win,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “It was great to see our guys step up when the game was on the line.”
The Nuggets, who outscored the Lakers 31-20 in the fourth quarter, entered Friday in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, percentage points behind the eighth-place Clippers (who hosted Cleveland late Friday) and just ahead of 10th-place Utah (which beat the Grizzlies on Friday) because of their edge in the division-record tiebreaker.
Millsap, who finished with 21 points and six rebounds in his best game since returning from a three-month absence because of wrist surgery, gave Denver a 112110 lead on a three-point play with 4:24 remaining.
“You can see Paul Millsap’s confidence really coming back,” Malone said.
Then, with the Nuggets clinging to a 116-114 lead, Millsap drilled a 3-pointer to increase that advantage to two possessions.
Jokic (21 points, six rebounds,
six assists) then answered a Lonzo Ball conversion inside with a tip-in to push Denver’s lead to 121-116 with 40.3 seconds remaining.
“Nikola is no longer worrying about Paul Millsap,” Malone said. “Nikola’s playing, and that’s what he has to do. No matter who else is on the floor, Nikola has to play his game and understand that he is our go-to guy and we are going to play through him. Paul is a (heck) of a player, and as he gets his rhythm back, now we even become that much more dangerous.”
Millsap all but clinched the victory with a blocked shot on Ball — which was originally called goaltending but then overturned — with 34.8 seconds to play.
After a Will Barton finish off the glass gave Denver a 101-100 lead with 8:49 to play, the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma answered with a layup to kick-start a three-minute stretch of trading baskets. A Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 3-pointer broke a 107-107 tie with 6:03 to play, before a Denver 9-0 spurt to take the lead for good.
Gary Harris complemented the Jokic-Millsap inside duo with 19 points (including 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point distance), five rebounds and five assists, while Jamal Murray contributed 22 points.
The Lakers’ Brook Lopez led all scorers with 29 points, while Julius Randle finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Lakers are lottery-bound while rebuilding with a young team, but they entered Friday with six wins in their last seven games.
Denver hosts Sacramento on Sunday afternoon, before a trip to Los Angeles for its final matchup against the Lakers on Tuesday.