Lakers player grades: L.A. wins third game in a row by downing Denver
The Los Angeles Lakers have rebuilt some momentum after going winless on a four-game road trip. They came home to defeat the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, and on Wednesday, they hosted the Denver Nuggets, a team they have rarely defeated over the last two calendar years.
Shortly before the opening tip, Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, the Nuggets' two best players, were ruled out of action due to injury. That gave the Lakers enough of an opening to dominate the game.
Thanks to some scorching early shooting, they took a 14-2 lead and never looked back. They were up 46-29 at the end of the first quarter, 73-59 at halftime and 105-77 through three quarters. Denver never really made a real threat to get back into the game, and Los Angeles coasted to a 120-108 win despite being outplayed throughout garbage time.
As a result, it has eked past the Nuggets in the standings with a 43-25 record and now holds third place in the Western Conference. The season series between the two teams has ended with two wins apiece for each of them, but the Lakers will likely earn the tiebreaker, as they have a good shot at finishing first in the Pacific Division, while the Nuggets will finish behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Northwest Division.
Somewhat quietly, the Lakers have been establishing a strong home-court advantage. This win was their ninth in a row at home, and they have a 28-7 record at home. Only the Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers have fewer home losses this season.
Dorian Finney-Smith: A
Finney-Smith was accurate with his shooting once again. He made three of his four 3-point attempts and was 5-of-7 overall from the field, giving him 14 points. He also had four rebounds, four assists and one steal in 30 minutes.
Jaxson Hayes: B
Hayes provided some nice support in the paint. He scored six points and made all but one of his four shot attempts, and he grabbed seven rebounds to go along with one steal and one block in 24 minutes.
Jordan Goodwin: B-plus
Goodwin shot just 2-of-7 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point tries. But as usual, he hustled hard, which allowed him to come up with four steals, and he also had three rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes.
Even when he isn't hitting his outside shot, he is an invaluable role player for the Lakers, and the team overall now has a group of players off the bench who will go after it defensively and on the boards on a consistent basis.
Austin Reaves: A-minus
Reaves had just seven points in the first half, but he started to turn it on in the third quarter when L.A. repelled a mini-run by the Nuggets. He scored nine points in that period, and despite going cold in the fourth quarter, he finished with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, plus eight assists, five rebounds, two steals, one block and just one turnover.
He only made two of his seven 3-point attempts, but other than that, he had another excellent all-around performance.
Luka Doncic: B-plus/A-minus
Doncic was about as hot as a player can be early in this game. He made seven of his first eight shot attempts, and he finished the first quarter with 21 points. He didn't shoot well the rest of the game, but he still managed to end the night with 31 points on 10-of-21 overall shooting, nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block, although he did commit six of the Lakers' 13 turnovers.
One of the positives from this game was the fact that it was so lopsided that Doncic only had to play 32 minutes. That should give him a little more energy for Thursday's game versus the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jarred Vanderbilt: A
Vanderbilt's impact off the bench was strongly felt in this game. He only had two rebounds in 18 minutes, but he came up with three steals, and he did a great job of running the floor in transition, which helped him score 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Gabe Vincent: A
Once again, Vincent did a great job of spacing the floor for Los Angeles. He hit four of his six shot attempts, all of which came from beyond the arc, giving him 12 points, to go along with one assist, in 23 minutes.
Dalton Knecht: B
Knecht got hot and scored 10 points in the first half by hitting on all three of his attempts from downtown. He went cold afterward, but he still scored 12 points and shot 4-of-10 overall and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also added three rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes.
Christian Koloko: B
In 14 minutes, Koloko grabbed four rebounds and connected on both of his shot attempts to score four points.
Shake Milton, Bronny James: Incomplete
Milton played seven minutes and missed all four of his field-goal attempts. He ended up scoring one point on a free throw and chipping in one rebound.
James did not make any statistical contributions in four minutes.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. wins third game in a row by downing Denver
-
Lakers player grades: L.A. gets mauled by Bucks, loses third in a row
With their starting frontcourt out of action, the Lakers are suddenly on a three-game losing streak after losing by 20 to the Bucks on Thursday.Yahoo Sports - 6d -
Lakers player grades: L.A. finally gets back in the win column
The Lakers didn't play a very good game on Sunday versus the Suns, but they played well enough to end their four-game losing streak.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Luka Dončić scores 45 points but Lakers lose third straight with LeBron James still out
Milwaukee got the easy 20-point win over the shorthanded Lakers, even with Dončić dropping his highest single-game total in his Lakers era.Yahoo Sports - 6d -
Lakers player grades: L.A. fights hard but loses fourth game in a row
Although the Lakers fell to the Nuggets on Friday, they fought as hard as possible despite being extremely short-handed.Yahoo Sports - 5d -
South Bay Lakers recap: South Bay wins again behind Stanley Johnson
The G League Lakers won their third game in a row and seventh in their last eight games on Wednesday behind a solid performance from Stanley Johnson.Yahoo Sports - 8h -
WATCH: Nuggets' Jamal Murray continues to haunt Lakers with yet another game-winning jumper
That makes three game-winners for Murray against L.A. in the last yearCBS Sports - 5d -
Lakers drop third in a row despite Luka Doncic's 45 points
The Bucks snap a three-game losing streak when the LeBron-less and short-handed Lakers can't keep pace in any quarter Thursday in Milwaukee.Yahoo Sports - 6d -
LeBron James update: Lakers star misses another game with groin injury
LeBron James did not play for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.Yahoo Sports - 12h -
Lakers pick up first win without LeBron James with 107-96 home victory over the Suns
Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves combined for 61 points, helping the Lakers snap a four-game losing streak.Yahoo Sports - 3d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Kirsty Coventry becomes first woman to lead International Olympic Committee
Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry became the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday, saying it was an "extraordinary moment"."This is an ...Yahoo Sports - 10m -
Pochettino’s USMNT roster for CONCACAF Nations League semifinal vs Panama
Mauricio Pochettino has selected the 23 players that will represent the USMNT and compete for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title next week.Yahoo Sports - 11m -
6 questions for the Dodgers and Cubs after Tokyo: What can we expect from Roki Sasaki? How will the Cubs' lineup shake out?
Also, can Yoshinobu Yamamoto contend for the Cy Young? And when will we see Shohei Ohtani on the mound?Yahoo Sports - 11m -
Kirsty Coventry elected first woman president of Olympic movement
Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry became the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday, declaring it to be an "extraordinary moment"."This is an ...Yahoo Sports - 13m -
Neville Gallimore ready to be 'jack of all trades' on Colts' defensive line
Indianapolis Colts' free agent signee and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore brings a "jack of all trades" mindset and skillset to the defense.Yahoo Sports - 13m
More in Sports
-
Agent's Take: The exploding edge rusher market and who is in line for the next big payday
Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson and T.J. Watt headline pass rushers who could break the bankCBS Sports - 7m -
NCAA Tournament 2025 bracket picks, Cinderella teams, top upsets: Model simulates March Madness 10K times
SportsLine's college basketball model has called 24 first-round NCAA Tournament upsets by double-digit seedsCBS Sports - 7m -
NCAA Tournament 2025 bracket: Unbiased simulation predicts surprising upsets, March Madness picks and sleepers
When does the March Madness 2025 schedule start, and when are 2025 NCAA Tournament brackets due? The 2025 March Madness bracket begins on Thursday, March 20CBS Sports - 9m -
The most expensive franchise sales in U.S. professional sports history: Where the Celtics land on the list
Boston's reported sale now tops leads a list where the prices are getting higher by the yearCBS Sports - 10m -
Kirsty Coventry becomes first woman to lead International Olympic Committee
Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry became the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday, saying it was an "extraordinary moment"."This is an ...Yahoo Sports - 10m