Lakers-Nuggets Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Dec 26 2012 2:54AM

It may have taken longer than expected, but the Los Angeles Lakers are finally starting to look like a force to be reckoned with.

The Lakers try to extend their winning streak to six for the first time in two seasons Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets, who've proven nearly unbeatable on their home court.

Los Angeles (14-14) appears to have found it its stride after getting off to a rough start. The Lakers, who've averaged 106.4 points during their run, got back to .500 for the first time since Nov. 30, with a 100-94 victory over New York on Christmas Day.

"Sometimes when you start winning you expect to win," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "You do the right thing. ... I just think we're getting a good shot every time we're down. You do that and good things are going to happen."

Averaging 33.8 points in 12 games this month, Kobe Bryant scored 34 while Dwight Howard had 14 to go along with 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which outscored the Knicks 46-26 in the paint.

"The last five games we have done a good job of moving the ball and playing together," said Bryant, who's scored at least 30 in nine straight contests. "We continue to compete. We continue to play hard and read the defense and try to make the right plays."

Some of the Lakers' recent success can also be attributed to Steve Nash's return to the court. The two-time league MVP posted season highs of 16 points and 11 assists Tuesday in his second game back after missing 24 due to a fracture in his left leg.

"Well it's a lot," D'Antoni said in regards to Nash being the missing piece. "A point guard like him has that respect. A lot of it is just the credibility that he has built up over the years. And he is good. It just puts everything into perspective and calms everybody down. It gives you the chance to win every night.

"I don't know if he's all of it but he's maybe the last piece that makes it work. There are a lot of pieces that you have to have. A lot of guys are contributing."

Having boarded a flight to Denver shortly after Tuesday afternoon's victory, the Lakers could be a bit more rested for this game than the Nuggets (15-14), who fell 112-100 to the Clippers in the second half of a doubleheader at Staples Center.

Kosta Koufos had a season best-tying 16 points on 8-of-8 shooting and 10 boards for Denver, which took a one-point lead into the second quarter before getting outscored 42-22 over the next 12 minutes.

While the Nuggets have gone 7-13 on the road, they've won eight of nine on their own court - including six straight since falling 98-93 to Miami on Nov. 15. They're also 10-5 against the Lakers in Denver since 2004-05.

Los Angeles, however, has strung together three consecutive victories in this series, taking the only meeting this season 122-103 on Nov. 30. Howard had 28 points and 20 rebounds while Bryant had a season-low 14 points. Bryant is averaging 16.8 points in four games against Denver since the start of last season, compared to 29.1 against everybody else.

Denver leading scorer Danilo Gallinari had a team-best 19 points in the first meeting but was limited to seven points on 1-of-10 shooting against the Clippers.

Brewer's 27 points lead Nuggets past Lakers

By DENNIS GEORGATOS
Posted Dec 27 2012 6:59AM

DENVER (AP) Kobe Bryant went on another scoring tear for the Los Angeles Lakers. This time, it wasn't enough.

Corey Brewer matched his career high with 27 points and the Denver Nuggets overcame Bryant's 40-point effort to beat the Lakers 126-114 Wednesday night for their seventh straight win at home.

"He's Kobe Bryant, so he made some tough shots, but other guys didn't get involved so we were able to get a win," Brewer said.

Brewer hit four of his six 3-pointers in the final 12-plus minutes, helping the Nuggets hold off the Lakers, whose five-game winning streak was snapped.

Bryant, who hit 40 points for the 116th time in his career, has scored 30 or more points in 10 straight games. But Bryant said it felt as if the Nuggets, who finished with the highest point total by a Lakers opponent this season, kept beating Los Angeles to the punch.

"Tonight it seemed like we were just a step slow, seemed like we were stuck in mud," Bryant said. "We played old. They played with a lot of energy, a lot of youth, got up and down. It just seemed we were in a lower gear."

Kenneth Faried had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Danilo Gallinari added 19 points for Denver. Ty Lawson had 17 points to go with 14 assists, and Andre Iguodala also scored 17 points.

"It was just good to see us shoot the ball and beat a good team with some confidence," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "I just think the last couple of games, we have been playing with a little more confidence and more awareness of how to win close games."

Karl added of Brewer, "His defensive plays and his energy, he energizes us on the perimeter. Kenneth energizes us in the middle. We were smart tonight. We did a good job of getting everyone in a good place on almost every possession."

The Lakers lost Dwight Howard to an ejection with 5:02 left in the third quarter. He was called for a flagrant foul 2 when he jammed his hand in Faried's face as the Nuggets forward drove the lane. Faried tumbled to the floor, but shook off the fall to stay in the game.

Howard acknowledged it was a hard foul and that it looked bad when seeing it on replay, but he didn't think it merited ejection.

"I was surprised it was a flagrant 2," he said. "My intention was never to hurt Faried. I like the young fellow and my intention was just to foul. I come down the lane, somebody is going to foul me hard, put me on the free throw line and make me shoot free throws. It was the same kind of thing."

Faried said he thought Howard may have been frustrated and also sensed his determined drive to the basket.

"He saw my eyes, I wasn't going to back down, I wasn't going to try to float it," Faried said. "I was going to try to dunk on him. He saw it. That's why he put his hand directly in my face."

Pau Gasol added 19 points for the Lakers and Steve Nash had 15 points in his third game back from a leg injury that sidelined him for 24 games.

Leading by three points at the half, the Nuggets went on a 10-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Gallinari for a 73-60 lead midway through the third quarter.

The Nuggets scored five consecutive points after Howard's ejection, including one of two free throws by Faried for an 84-72 advantage. But the Lakers fought back, pulling within 91-87 with a 9-3 burst near the end of the third quarter that Bryant started with a 3-pointer.

Taking advantage of a Lakers turnover, the Nuggets stunned the Lakers with five points in the final 12.7 seconds of the third, with Brewer hitting a running 3-pointer at the buzzer from 26 feet away to allow Denver to take a 96-87 lead into the fourth quarter.

"It was one of those nights when the shots start going down the basket gets big," Brewer said.

Brewer and Iguodala each hit 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the final period as Denver gained a 15-point advantage.

The Lakers cut it to 113-106 on layup by Jodie Meeks with 4:34 remaining, but Gallinari answered with his third 3-pointer of the night and Faried followed with a driving layup to rebuild Denver's lead to 118-106. Brewer hit two more 3-pointers in the final 1:19 to ice the victory.

NOTES: Faried has 12 double-doubles this season. ... Nuggets forward Jordan Hamilton was fined $25,000 by the NBA because of a vulgar exchange with a fan during the team's 112-100 Christmas Day loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center. ...Despite the loss, the Lakers remain the only NBA team to have a winning record against the Nuggets in Denver, (43-34) all-time. ... Gasol, who was 3 for 11 from 3-point range coming into the game, hit two of his three 3-point tries against the Nuggets. ... Denver scored a season high in points against the Lakers. The previous high was 122 points at Sacramento on Dec. 16. ... Bryant matched an opponent season-high in points against the Nuggets. Chris Bosh of Miami also scored 40 points against Denver on Nov. 13. ... Brewer also scored 27 points against Detroit on April 4, 2010.

Notebook: Nuggets 126, Lakers 114

Michael Kelly, For NBA.com
Posted Thu Dec 27, 2012 1:20 AM - Updated Thu Dec 27, 2012 1:20 AM

THE FACTS: Corey Brewer came off the bench to tie a career high with 27 points, Kenneth Faried had 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets outlasted another prolific night from Kobe Bryant to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 126-114 on Wednesday night.

Bryant had 40 points to extend his streak of 30-plus games to 10, but it was wasted as the Lakers lost for the first time in six games. The Lakers relied on Bryant's scoring while Denver used a balanced approach. Six players scored in double figures for the Nuggets (16-14), including Andre Iguodala, who had 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

The Lakers (14-15), meanwhile, played the last 17 minutes without center Dwight Howard, who was ejected for a Flagrant 2 midway through the third quarter.

QUOTABLE: "Tonight it seemed like we were just a step slow, seemed like we were stuck in mud. We played old. They played with a lot of energy, a lot of youth, got up and down. It just seemed we were in a lower gear."

-- Kobe Bryant, on the Nuggets' energy

THE STAT: Six days after setting an NBA record by missing all 22 of their 3-point attempts against Portland, the Nuggets were hot from long range. They were 1-for-7 in the first half but were scorching in the second half, going 11-for-15 to finish with a season-high 12.

TURNING POINT: The Lakers had cut a 15-point lead to seven with 4:38 when Metta World Peace grabbed a long rebound and headed downcourt. He missed a layup that would have made it a five-point game, and Danilo Gallinari drained a 3-pointer to give Denver more breathing room.

QUOTABLE II: "You can't just keep coming back. You can't just keep letting them score. For whatever reason, they just had more legs. Whether they're younger or faster, I don't know, but we couldn't keep them in front of us."

-- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni

HOT: Brewer found his 3-point touch in the second half, going 6-for-7 from long range. And the one he missed the Nuggets rebounded, fed him in the corner and he drained another 3.

QUOTABLE III: "It's one of those nights when the shots start going down -- the basket gets big."

-- Corey Brewer

NOT: After scoring in double figures in five straight games and seven out of the last eight, Jodie Meeks has struggled for points the past two games. He was 1-for-6 from the field for three points on Christmas Day and finished 2-for-11 against the Nugget and had seven points.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Bryant is the NBA leading scorer and he doesn't appear to be relinquishing the lead anytime soon after his 10th straight 30-point game. He had 15 at half and 26 after three quarters.

GOOD MOVE: The Nuggets' defense on Howard was far better than the effort from four weeks ago when he had 28 points and 20 rebounds. Kosta Koufas had four fouls trying to keep him in check but it was a good use of fouls. Howard was 4-for-9 from the line and had just 12 points and seven rebounds before being tossed.

BAD MOVE: With the shorter Faried working inside without fear, the frustration appeared to get to Howard. On a drive to the bucket with 5:02 left in the third the Lakers center laid hard foul on Faried, sending him to the floor and Howard to the locker room. He was called for a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected.

QUOTABLE IV: "I think it was a little bit of frustration. He saw my eyes. I wasn't going to back down, I wasn't going to try to float it, I was going to try to dunk on him. He saw it, that's why he put his hand directly in my face. That's when I say, 'Dang, I wish I would have jumped higher.'"

-- Kenneth Faried

QUOTABLE V: "I was going for the ball and he kept going up so, obviously, when you miss the ball and you hit a part of somebody else's body and they foul it's going to look extremely bad. I was surprised it was a Flagrant 2. I could see it being a flagrant foul because it was a pretty hard foul, but for me to get ejected from the game, I don't think it was called for."

-- Dwight Howard

NOTABLE: Bryant's streak of 30-plus scoring games marks the third time in his career he has had such a streak. Michael Jordan and Bryant are the only players in NBA history to do so. Bryant's longest streak of consecutive 30-point games is 16 games, set Jan. 29-Feb. 28, 2003. ... Ty Lawson had 17 points, 14 assists and no turnovers. He is the first Nuggets to have at least 14 assists and no turnovers since Nick Van Exel did it on Jan. 24, 2002.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Friday vs. Portland, Tuesday vs. Philadelphia, Fri., Jan. 4, @ Clippers. For the Nuggets, Friday @ Dallas, Saturday @ Memphis, Tuesday vs. Clippers.

• Lakers: Blake, Johnson-Odom
• Nuggets: Chandler, Stone

• Lakers: --
• Nuggets: McGee

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #18 Matt Boland, #42 Eric Lewis, #43 Dan Crawford
• Attendance: 19155
• Duration: 2:17