 Devean George and the Lakers never trailed in this one. Brian Bahr/NBAE/Getty Images from Lakers-Nuggets: 56k | 300k |
Denver is a team without a legitimate center, providing just the type of opponent O'Neal usually devours. The 7-2 superstar center made just 4-of-11 shots and 2-of-9 free throws but grabbed 13 rebounds.
"I really worked hard to get my teammates involved," said O'Neal, who recorded six assists. "Our defense played pretty well. We were getting the ball down on offense and making our shots."
Bryant and Richmond picked up the slack, combining to make 13-of-24 shots for Los Angeles, which drained 7-of-12 3-pointers to overcome 12-of-25 free-throw shooting.
The Lakers opened with a 10-2 run and never trailed. They had a 27-13 lead after the first quarter and scored 10 of the first 12 points in the second period to build an insurmountable lead.
Denver shot a season-low 33 percent (28-of-86) and was unable to take advantage of Los Angeles' woes at the free-throw line, attempting just 10 foul shots on its home floor.
"If we would've known we would hold the Lakers to 89 points, I would've given us a pretty good chance to win this game," Nuggets coach Dan Issel said. "Our defense was really not that bad, we just couldn't hit a basket. We you shoot like that, you aren't going to beat anybody."
"Maybe their overtime game took something out of them," Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said, referring to Denver's overtime win on Monday. "It looked like two teams that dragged around on the court. There was not much life."
Nick Van Exel was the only Nugget in double figures with 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting. James Posey added nine points and Shawnelle Scott collected eight points and six rebounds off the bench.
Denver recorded season lows for points in game and a half, scoring just 33 in the first 24 minutes. The Nuggets also had a season-low 13 points in the first and fourth quarters.
Despite its horrendous performance, Denver rallied in the third quarter to get within striking distance.
The Lakers took 53-39 lead on a dunk by O'Neal with 8:41 left in the third, but James Posey nailed a 3-pointer and Van Exel scored seven points in a 14-6 run to bring the Nuggets within 59-53 with 1:22 to go.
Denver trailed, 61-55, with 41 seconds remaining, but Robert Horry hit a 3-pointer and Stanislav Medvedenko dunked with two seconds left to give the Lakers a double-digit lead for good.
Los Angeles opened the final quarter with a 23-6 run and took its largest lead, 85-61, on a 3-pointer by Horry with 3:31 left. Richmond scored seven points in the fourth quarter and Bryant added four.
Lindsey Hunter scored nine points and Rick Fox had eight and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 47 percent (35-of-74) and had a commanding 59-36 rebounding edge.
"We've been playing well in spurts, we just haven't played a good, full 48 (minutes) yet," Bryant said. "This was a low-scoring one, it was good that we held on and pulled it out."