Without Lebron James due to injury, with Anthony Davis very touched in the foot and after six consecutive defeatsthe last one this Sunday against the Denver Nuggets of an immense Nikola Jokic (118-129), Los Angeles Lakers they only cling to math to avoid the more than likely disaster of running out of ‘play-in’.
The Angelenos are 11th in the West (31-47) and technically they can still beat the San Antonio Spurs (32-45)who have earned them the tiebreaker in tenth place and who play tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers.
But the sensations in the Lakers are those of a team in absolute decomposition.
Since the All-Star break they have a shocking balance of 4-16LeBron could not take the court today due to his ankle problems, Davis had to play with obvious pain in his right foot and the calendar they have left for an improbable comeback is very difficult (Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets).
The umpteenth disappointment for these drifting Lakers came with Nikola Jokic’s stamp, huge with 38 points (15 of 22 in shots), 18 rebounds and 6 assists.
Aaron Gordon (24 points and 8 rebounds) and Will Barton (25 points) escorted the Serbian in an afternoon of great success for the Nuggets (57.3% shooting) and that allows them to secure fifth place in the West against the Utah Jazz.
The Argentine Facundo Campazzo did not have minutes in the Nuggets.
On the part of some worthy but insufficient Lakers, Anthony Davis despite his physical problems (28 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists) and Russell Westbrook (27 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists) they were the best.
Is this good? https://t.co/lMsj97fHoX
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 3, 2022
Jokic, too much for the Lakers
Although very soon he began to show signs that his foot was not well, Anthony Davis signed a fabulous start.
With 12 points in the first quarter and a wonderful display of offensive resources, the Lakers center showed muscle against Nikola Jokic and tried by all means to forget his physical problems to help his team (28-24).
The reaction of the Nuggets came from the hand of Aaron Gordonfantastic with 14 points in the second quarter (including a 2 of 2 in triples).
Davis, who achieved a beautiful penetration after passing the ball behind his back, cHe had the support of a Russell Westbrook who made a great mate few seconds before reaching the break.
However, an unfortunate foul by Malik Monk on Will Barton’s buzzer-beating 3-point attempt gave the advantage to the visitors (61-62) despite a solid first half from the Lakers.
Nikola Jokic, without making too much noise, went to the locker room with a double-double in his pocket (14 points and 11 rebounds) after two quarters of terror on the perimeter (6 of 26 in triples between the two teams).
Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard showed off chemistry on the inside for embroider a partial of 13-7 in the resumption that returned dominance to the Lakers (74-69 with 8.51 to go)
That section of defense and counterattack did not last long for the Angelenos, since between Gordon and Jokic quickly leveled the match (78-78 with 6.20 to play).
The Serbian went out in the third quarter.
Last season’s MVP had 14 points in that quarter finding countless ways to torture the angel defense.
Barton also excelled from the perimeter with 11 points, but Davis and Westbrook joined forces for the Lakers to stay on the lookout before the denouement (94-95).
Carmelo Anthony sharpened the aim of the Lakers’ benchbut another reserve veteran like DeMarcus Cousins held his team in the starters’ break minutes (104-106 with 6.25 to go).
As in so many other afternoons in this course, the Lakers were entangled in the outcome in numerous errors and they were condemned by the fragility of their defense, something that Jokic and Barton took advantage of wonderfully to open a gap (106-117 with 4.46 to go).
The ones in purple and gold reached 6 points, but an offensive rebound and a basket by Jokic with 1.39 on the clock finished some Lakers ever closer to a historic catastrophe.