Los Angeles improved its record to 52-18 on the season, besting the Denver Nuggets 124-121 off a Kyle Kuzma buzzer beater, matching the team’s best 70-game start since 2009-10. The Lakers outscored the Nuggets in the paint, 58-56, and are 43-7 when owning the points in the paint advantage in 2019-20. Overall, L.A. ranks second in PITP (52.8) and is the only team in the NBA to average at least 30 such points in either half this season (30.0, first half).
LeBron James (29 points), Anthony Davis (27) and Kyle Kuzma (25) each scored 20+ points tonight, marking the eighth time this season in which three Lakers players have reached that scoring total this season (6-2). The Lakers shot 54.3 percent from the field (44-81 FG) in tonight’s win, improving to 27-0 when the team converts at least half of its attempts. L.A. also shot 48.3 percent from three-point range (14-29 3FG), their best mark since the NBA Restart, and improved to 30-5 when they convert more shots from long range than their opponent.
LeBron James notched 29 points (5-11 3FG), 12 assists, two blocks and one rebound in 38 minutes, good for his 46th double-double of the season. James continues to lead the league in total assists (680), assists per game (10.3) and double-digit assist games (39). The contest marked his 1,256th career game scoring in double figures, tying him with Tim Duncan for fifth-most games in NBA history. James extended an NBA record with his 994th consecutive game scoring at least 10 points.
Anthony Davis finished with 27 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks in 38 minutes. Davis scored 12 points (6-8 FG) in the first quarter of tonight’s contest, improving his scoring average to 8.4 points in the opening frame (3rd in NBA).
Kyle Kuzma tallied 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 33 minutes, his 10th 20-point game of the season. He has averaged 20.9 points (.497 FG%), 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in nine starts in 2019-20 (7-2 in such games). Kuzma connected on a 25-foot three-pointer with :00.7 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a 124-121 advantage. The shot marked Kuzma’s first career go-ahead field goal within the final five seconds of a game. This was Kuzma’s third consecutive game with multiple steals, the longest streak of his career.