DENVER — The Lakers stole a needed win in Denver on Tuesday, beating the Nuggets 115-107 without Nikola Jokić at the Ball Arena behind a second-half comeback and a triple-double from Luka Dončić.
After allowing 71 first-half points to a Nuggets team that couldn't miss to start the game—hitting nine of their first 11 shots from 3—the Lakers' defense anchored down, allowing 36 points in the second half and forcing a six-and-a-half-minute dry spell in the fourth quarter.
It marked one of their best wins of the season, surging back from down 16 points in the third quarter.
"It was awesome," Dončić said on the Lakers' energy on defense. "Against Toronto, the zone worked for us. We tried [here] in the first half and it didn't work. So we stuck to another plan. To change the plan in the middle of the game and stick to it was impressive by us."
Dončić finished with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and helped the Lakers surge to 58 points in the second half, outscoring them by 22 points. It was Dončić's fifth triple-double of the season and 87th of his career, joining LeBron James and Magic Johnson as the only players in Lakers history with four or more 30-plus-point triple-doubles in a season.
Another significant factor in the Lakers' surge was shutting down Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who had been the catalyst for Denver's hot start, scoring four 3-pointers and 26 points in the first half. Then, after a decisive gameplan in blitzing and forcing the ball out of his hands, Murray was held to just two points in the second half.
"It took him out of his rhythm," coach JJ Redick said on the game plan around Murray. "By the time he had taken a shot in the second half, it was well into the fourth quarter. It was literally 'Let's take the ball out of his hands'."
James added more dunks to his year 23 mixtape, having two big-time dunks. His first one came in the first half with a two-handed slam, and the second one came in much-needed clutch time down the stretch with under two minutes left.
Rui Hachimura found a cutting James for an easy one-handed tomahawk dunk to give the Lakers an eight-point lead, capping off a 24-14 run from the start of the fourth. The surge helped the Lakers go on to come back and close out the game, thanks to Denver going scoreless for six minutes and 30 seconds.
James poured in 12 of his 19 points in the second half, adding nine rebounds and eight assists on eight-of-15 shooting.
Marcus Smart was the only other player to score in double figures, playing a major role with all 15 of his points coming in the second half, with four 3s.
Drew Timme continued his impressive contribution in a short stint in Denver, scoring seven points in his first two minutes. He finished with 9 points (four-of-six shooting) in 11 minutes and started the second half for the second straight game.
The Lakers' win improved their record to 26-16 and 14-8 on the road, pushing them up to fifth place in the West. They will travel back home for their next game against the cross-town rival Clippers on Thursday.