In order to outgun one of the league’s most potent offenses, the Lakers needed several players to step up.
And a mixture of young guys and veterans did just that, providing enough firepower to push Los Angeles past the Denver Nuggets, 120-116.
Nick Young led the charge with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting. But even though he splashed five 3-pointers and threw down a fast-break slam, the L.A. native was quick to defer credit to his backcourt mate — over and over again.
“Shoutout to my man, D’Angelo Russell,” Young said. “D’Angelo Russell Night — it was D’Angelo Russell Night tonight. … D’Angelo Russell was sharing the ball, made big plays.”
Indeed, Russell was steady throughout the game and cutch at the end.
After missing the Lakers’ last three games (all losses) due to leg injuries, the 20-year-old racked up 22 points and seven rebounds while making it a double-double with a career-high 10 assists — seven of which went to Young.
“‘I’m proud of myself,” Russell said. “I’ve been trying (and) I didn’t even know I was that close [to my assist total]. Guys were making shots left and right, we were getting stops, and it just made it easier for me.”
Head coach Luke Walton called Russell “fantastic” and “a huge factor” toward the win.
It’s hard to argue considering he hit a 17-foot pull-up jumper with 43.8 seconds left to push L.A.’s lead from one to three, and then iced the win by hitting all four of his free throw attempts in the final minute.
“He was our leader on the court and he was making all the right plays,” Ivica Zubac said. “He needs to play like that and I think he can do it every night.”
Ensemble Performance
It took much more than just Young and Russell to overcome the Nuggets, who had beaten the Lakers just two weeks earlier.
Lou Williams piled up 21 points (7-of-11), seven assists and four 3-pointers, while Zubac continued his run as a rookie revelation.
The 19-year-old missed just one of his nine shots from the field while resetting his career-high for the third straight game with 17 points.
Walton trusted Zubac enough to play him in the closing minutes of the game — a stark contrast from when he was playing small minutes two weeks ago and not even coming off the bench in the beginning of the month.
“It means a lot because I was working hard since Summer League,” Zubac said. “This was my reward. I’ve been working hard for these minutes and I’m not going to let them go.”
Zubac and his teammates looked fresh after having four days between their last game and this one, as the Lakers (17-34) shot 52.8 percent from the field and 12-of-26 on 3-pointers.
“There were multiple guys that really played a part in the style that was fun to watch, fun to coach, for for the fans (and) fun for most of us in the building,” Walton said.
In a back-and-forth affair that featured 22 lead changes, the Lakers appeared to pull away in a miserable third quarter for the Nuggets (21-26), which saw the visitors shoot just 5-of-20.
But though L.A. led by 10 with two minutes left in the third, Denver proved its explosiveness even without young star Nikola Jokic (hip flexor strain).
The Nuggets went on a 17-2 run through the beginning of the fourth quarter to grab an 87-81 lead with nine minutes left.
It was a close contest from there, as Williams — who scored 13 points in the final period — hit a layup to tie the game with 4:43 remaining and then another one for a 112-111 lead within the game’s final two minutes.
From there, Russell took over to finish off the team that had beaten the Lakers seven straight times in Los Angeles.
Notes
The Lakers celebrated “Dr. Buss Night” in honor of their late former owner, Jerry Buss. … L.A. enjoyed a 64-34 advantage in points in the paint. … The Lakers shot 14-of-21 in the fourth quarter. … Denver was led by Wilson Chandler (26 points, nine rebounds) and Kenneth Faried (14 points, 17 rebounds). … Tarik Black had six points and eight rebounds while starting in place of Julius Randle (pneumonia). … A sold-out crowd of 18,997 packed Staples Center.