JJ Redick's Brutally Honest Statement After Lakers-Nuggets

LA Lakers coach JJ Redick got honest about their loss to the Denver Nuggets

Mar 10, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick watches from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Denver Nuggets edged out the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, beating them 131-126 in a game that went down to the wire.

The Lakers were severely shorthanded, missing LeBron James and Luka Doncic, but they fared well without them. Austin Reaves dropped a game-high 37 points with 8 rebounds and 13 assists, while rookie Dalton Knecht posted 32 points.

The Lakers had a great chance to steal a win over the Nuggets, holding a lead with less than a minute left, but Denver superstar Nikola Jokic took matters into his own hands to tie it. Jokic drove the lane to get a tough and-one to fall while down by three, tying the game 126-126 with just 48 seconds left.

Few things better than Nikola Jokic going HB Dive late in games. pic.twitter.com/mOxrCpzUfi

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 15, 2025

It is a challenging task for anybody in the NBA to defend Jokic, and 24-year-old Lakers center Christian Koloko was put in a tough position with the game on the line.

Following the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick took the blame for putting Koloko on Jokic in that situation, explaining what happened and how he messed up.

"I think the play that Jokic got the and-one, I'll take some ownership of that," Redick said. "That was a short timeout and I ran on the floor to check on [Dalton Knecht] and then I ran back and didn't have time to really get us the right substitutions and matchups that I would've wanted. That's not a knock on [Koloko] but I just kind of put him in a tough spot knowing that Jokic was going to go quick."

JJ took ownership of that Jokic and-1 that tied the game late in the 4th

He also added:

"The last play, no comment on that one" pic.twitter.com/15y4Evxf8L

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) March 15, 2025

Redick also added "no comment" on the last play, where Lakers guard Shake Milton threw the game-ending turnover, despite coming right out of a timeout. Despite playing without James and Doncic, the Lakers put up a good fight and had a few chances to come out of Denver with a win, but luckily, the Nuggets held on.

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