Lakers Roasted by Fans for Ruining LeBron James’ Historic Night with Loss to Nuggets
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LeBron James made more history, though his Los Angeles Lakers teammates couldn’t help provide the Hollywood ending.
The superstar became the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 points, though the Denver Nuggets served as antagonists yet again, beating the Lakers 124-114 on Saturday night.
It was a familiar script in many ways for the Lakers. Including last season’s playoffs, the Nuggets have now beaten the Lakers eight straight times.
And while James was yet again excellent (26 points, nine assists, four rebounds, four steals) and Anthony Davis provided another double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks), the Lakers had zero answers for Nikola Jokić (35 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) and Jamal Murray (24 points, 11 assists).
That two-man game torched the Lakers, consistently, down the stretch. And that had Lakers fans frustrated on social media after the game:
The Lakers played well for much of the night, but in crunch time the defense evaporated, and the defending champions outscored them 35-25 in the fourth quarter. The bench minutes didn’t help—while every Lakers starter scored 17 or more points, the bench added just 12 points compared to 20 from Denver’s reserves.
The Nuggets (42-19) have now won six straight since the All-Star break and look to be ramping up for another deep playoff run. The Lakers (33-29), meanwhile, dropped to 10th in the Western Conference, the final Play-In Tournament berth.
Their spot in the Play-In is likely secure barring a monumental meltdown, with the Utah Jazz 5.5 games behind them in the standings. But a team with LeBron and AD is expected to be better than 10th in the West.
The Lakers won their bubble title with James, but in general the team has been a disappointment during his time in Los Angeles. That’s not on LeBron—he’s continued to play at a high level, even at the age of 39. In that regard, Saturday night was the perfect metaphor for his time in the City of Angels.