Kuzma Hits a Game-Winner, Lakers Defeat Nuggets, 124-121

Kyle Kuzma’s three-pointer brought down the Denver Nuggets, earning his Lakers the 52nd win of the season. The final result of the Western Conference derby was 124-121 for the purple and gold.

Kuzma hit the bottom of the net with Bol Bol coming after him to block the shot, making the situation very difficult. LeBron threw an inbound pass to Anthony Davis, who then made everybody believe that the two would have “give and go” with Kuzma making a screen for LBJ.

Instead, AD would give a pass to Kuzma who opened quickly, to sunk the three-pointer from near the corner with 0.4 left on the clock,

“I got an open look. It’s a play we ran in practice a few times prior to the restart,” Kuzma said. “Coach had faith in me, called my number and it paid off. It just shows that my teammates and my coaches, they trust in me.”

WHAT A SHOT BY KUZMA 🤯 pic.twitter.com/l0KKnjfJOd

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 11, 2020

The Lakers’ forward ended the game with 25 points, shooting from the field 11-of-16, and adding six boards and two steals.

LeBron had 29 buckets and 12 assists with five threes made. Anthony Davis ended the game scoring 27 points with 6 rebounds, five assists, and three steals, with two blocks.

Dion Waiters, who has been solid since the start of the bubble added 12, and Danny Green 11.

The game itself was very tight since the start until the end, with both sides constantly changing the lead, and coming after one another. Denver was up 119-114 with 1:49 until the end, with Monte Morris scoring a three-pointer. The Nuggets had a chance to take the lead with 4.8 seconds to go, but PJ Dozier missed his second free throw allowing the Lakers to have at least overtime in their hands coming into the last possession.

Denver’s coach Mike Malone decided to pull out his starting lineup in the last period and play with the reserves, which were, by the way, excellent on the court. All the players he used were at least 21 minutes in the game, and the most 27, and it seems that Malone wanted to see the quality of the Nuggets’ depth chart against the biggest title contender.

“For us to sit out starters the whole fourth quarter and to have the guys on the bench out there giving them all they could handle, it was a heartbreaker. It’s always tough, but just so proud. I could not ask for a greater effort, greater focus, energy, whatever you want to call it.”

Dozier had a team-high 18 points, adding four boards and assists. Michael Porter Jr, was without a miss, 6-for-6 from the field, and 15 boards, Paul Millsap added 14. Jamal Murray scored the same number of points, while Nikola Jokic delivered 12 with 4 assists.

Both Nuggets and the Lakers had a high shooting percentage, Denver 58.4%, LAL 56.3%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0QTDHdHVt4

However, when looking at the overall situation, it appears that the Lakers played with 100% of their power, and that on the other end, Denver was much more relaxed, without the intensity as their rivals had.

Up next, Malone’s guys are playing against the Los Angeles Clippers this Wednesday, and after that, have one more clash before the start of the playoffs. If they defeat the Clippers, they might have a chance to be No.2 in the West. Right now, Denver sits a game and a half behind the LAC and is one game ahead of the Houston Rockets.

On the other side, the Lakers are the No.1, and they meet the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. That is the last game of the regular part of the season for them.