DENVER — The Los Angeles Lakers got the first glimpse of Luka Dončić heroics in their first win in Denver since 2022, beating the Nuggets 123-100 behind an all-around effort in a playoff-like atmosphere on Saturday night.
The Lakers snapped Denver’s nine-game win streak coming into the game behind their starting unit combining for 105 points, improving to 34-21 (fifth in the West).
Dončić looked his most comfortable self since his arrival in Los Angeles, playing at the level that reflects the ‘Luka Magic’ nickname. He led the Lakers in all main categories, scoring 32 points (10 rebounds, 7 assists) in 30 minutes, his first 30-point game in a Lakers uniform.
"I think you can see it [today], me smiling on the court, having fun," Dončić said. "Just felt like me a little bit. I was happy."
Dončić flashed a few smiles in the first quarter and in moments throughout after hitting multiple contested deep step-back 3-pointers, scoring 16 points within the first 10 minutes. He would push and maintain the Lakers lead in the second half while contributing on the defensive end with four steals.
The bucket that pushed him to the 30-point mark was a Luka-esque moment that drew cheers and oohs and aahs at the Ball Arena. With Michael Porter Jr. draped all over him, Dončić drove to the basket, veered toward the baseline, and created separation with a euro step before sinking a running floater. Hitting nothing but bottom.
He finished shooting four-for-nine from 3-point range and 10-of-22 overall.
pic.twitter.com/gbv55ImyhJ https://t.co/FfPlxH3dRT
— Carlos Yakimowich (@CarlosYakNBA) February 23, 2025
"That's the Luka that we're all accustomed to watching over the last seven years," LeBron James said, who finished with 25 points (11-of-19 shooting) in 33 minutes.
The execution on the defensive end was one of the biggest takeaways for James, an effort that forced Denver to commit 20 turnovers—to L.A.'s eight. The Lakers took advantage of those miscues, scoring a season-high 39 points off the Nuggets turnovers.
The Lakers' strategy against Nikola Jokić—doubling him on most touches in the paint and keeping a body on him a half court while rotating Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith on him—proved effective at times. The game plan kept the three-time MVP from playing at his usual dominant level.
"We tried to limit his touches as much as possible," head coach JJ Redick said.
Jokic shot a season-low seven shot attempts, scoring 12 points—the second-lowest scoring total he’s had all season.
Slow second-half starts have been the Achilles heel for the Lakers since the All-Star break. That trend continued with Denver jumping to an 8-0 run to start the third quarter, which got within one, the closest since the start of the game.
What did the Lakers do to answer that? Go on a run of their own, outscoring the Nuggets 10-0 right after the run.
Denver would never get within striking distance after that, as the Lakers climbed their lead with Nuggets head coach Michael Malone emptying his bench with four minutes left in the game. L.A. led by as many as 26 points and never surrendered their lead.
In the second half, Hachimura had a brief scare moment that looked worse than what resulted. After guarding Aaron Gordon in the post, Hachimura was noticeably favoring the left side of his lower back. Right after Gordon made the bucket in the post, Hachimura walked off the court and went straight to the locker room.
Hachimura returned to finish the game, ending with an efficient 21 points on seven-of-12 shooting.
With Dončić and James drawing a lot of attention, this gives a lot of one-on-one opportunities for Austin Reaves to have a free range to maneuver on offense.
Fun Fact of the Game
This was the 194th contest (including playoffs) between the two teams in both franchise's history. The Lakers have won 114 times in those amount of games.
The first ever game between the two was on Nov 24, 1976. The Nuggets won 122-112. Want to take a guess of who was the leading scorer in that contest? Here's the hint: he wore goggles and has the most unstoppable shot this game has ever seen.
Next Game
The Lakers begin a six-game home stand on Tuesday (7 p.m.) against the Dallas Mavericks. This will be the first time the two teams meet since the Dončić and Anthony Davis trade. Davis will not be available in the contest due to an abdominal injury that will be re-evaluated in two weeks, but Max Christie will see his former team.
Dallas has won five of the last six games and is currently on a three-game win streak at 31-26.
After they will have their second of back-to-back games since the All-Star break against the Timberwolves and Clippers on Thursday and Friday.