The Denver Nuggets earn their first win of the season as they cruise to a 119-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Ball Arena on opening night.

After trailing big for most of the game, the Lakers would decrease the deficit to 94-90 after a Christian Wood free throw midway through the 4^th quarter. However, he Nuggets’ offense would then prove to be too much for the Lakers as they went on a 15-7 run to put the game out of reach.

With this win the Nuggets continued their explosive and consistent play that helped them win an NBA Championship last June. The Nuggets met the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals last season where Denver swept the series.

“I think we controlled the game the whole time,” said Nikola Jokic. “At the end we kind of lost it a little bit in the 4^th quarter and from that moment we stepped up again and made plays to win the game”.

The Nuggets were led by their guard-center duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Jokic recorded his 1^st triple double of the year with 29 points, 11 assists, and 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, Murray compiled 21 points and 6 assists.

Denver guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 20 points, 3 steals, and 2 rebound, while power forward Aaron Gordon put up 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Three-point shooting and high percentage looks were key aspects for the Nuggets win over the Lakers. Denver shot 52.7% from the field and 41.2% from the 3-point line.

Though the Denver starting five played good offensively, with each player scoring in double figures, the players off the bench struggled. Denver only scored 22 points off the bench and shot 8-20 from the field.

“We know what Christian Bruan is capable of.  I think he’s going to be our x-factor in the games,” said Nikola Jokic. “The season is coming, and someone is going to step up for sure”.

For Los Angeles, Lebron James led the scoring effort recording 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Anthony Davis also played a big role for the Lakers with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, but didn’t manage to score a single point in the 2^nd half.

“They started double teaming trying to crowd the paint,” said Anthony Davis. “I missed some easy layups around the rim. I’m just trying to make the right play kick it out to our guys when they double”.

Los Angeles struggled to slow down the fast-paced Nuggets offense by not getting back on defense and crashing the glass. Denver had 20 points in transition and 18 points off of turnovers.

“We gave up 20 in transition and we gave up 17 in second chance points, and that’s what killed us last year in the Western Conference Finals,” said Lebron James. “I thought we did a good job of not turning the ball over as much, we only had 12 turnovers, but when we turned it over, we allowed them to score”.

Next Up

The Denver Nuggets will try to follow up this win on Friday when they take on the Grizzlies in Memphis. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers will try to bounce back on Thursday when they meet head-to-head with the Phoenix Suns.