All Lakers

Lakers Star Admits Denver ‘Beat The S— Out of Us’ as Usual

Matt Levine

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
In this story:

On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets met for the first time this season. For the first 24 minutes of the game, things looked like they may have changed between the two sides.

But in the end, a similar spooky feeling haunted the Crypto.com Arena. Despite holding a lead at halftime, the Lakers ended up getting blown out in the second half by the Nuggets.

It was a poor display from Los Angeles and something that many fans believed was done with. But the Nuggets completely blitzed the Lakers after halftime en route to a 127-102 victory.

After the game, the Lakers reflected on the loss, with guard Austin Reaves not mincing his words on the matter at all.

“Tonight they beat the shit out of us.”

The Nuggets did everything right in the second half, limiting the Lakers offense. Star big man Anthony Davis struggled in this game, being held to just 14 points.

It was his worst game of the season as he shot six-for-19 from the field. The star big man spoke afterward, simply saying that he just missed shots.

“I just missed shots. I think all great looks,” Davis said. “It’s a miss-or-make league. I’ll make more than I’ll miss, for sure. You always wish you can make every shot. I’m confident in every shot I took. They’re shots that I normally make. All of us, to be honest. Shots that that we all normally make, we just missed. But I like every shot that I took tonight. They just didn’t go in.”

Head coach JJ Redick also commented on the performance, calling out the team's effort level and spirit in the third quarter.

“I have a pretty clear idea of what happened in the third. But whatever it was, it was not because we were haunted of the ghosts of the past or something like that,” Redick said. “It was kind of obvious to me what happened there. Just not the right spirit.”

With the loss, the Lakers have now dropped 13 of their last 14 to the Nuggets, including in the postseason. Denver has owned this rivalry and the Lakers are left trying to pick up the pieces once again.

If the Lakers want any hope for success this season, they will have to find a way to get by the Nuggets.

More Lakers: Lakers' Dalton Knecht Sees Massive Boost in 2K Rating After Dominant Outings

Published
Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.

Home/News