3 takeaways from the Lakers’ Game 2 loss against the Nuggets
Apparently, the Denver Nuggets can keep getting away with this as they’ve now beaten the Lakers ten times in a row after an improbable Game 2 win on Monday.
The Lakers are Prometheus, but instead of being bound to a rock, they are chained to play-in positioning, fighting to enter the postseason. And rather than an eagle eating their liver, it's the Denver Nuggets taking the heart just when they thought they'd live to see a win.
Monday's defeat to the Nuggets may have been the cruelest. The Lakers led by as many as 20 points but lost thanks to Denver's dominant fourth-quarter performance. The Nuggets game-winning basket by Jamal Murray over Anthony Davis sealed the 101-99 win.
Here are three big takeaways from the loss:
Battle of the boards was lost
Head coach Darvin Ham discussed the Lakers' offensive rebounding as the biggest area to improve in Game 2, and for two quarters, they did. But alas, basketball is a four-quarter game, and in the second half, the Lakers were outrebounded 24-16.
Denver took those extra possessions and catapulted themselves back into the game, ultimately leading them to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. Against defending champions like Denver, you can't afford to make mistakes or get outplayed; too much of that happened in the third and fourth, and that's why the Lakers are down 0-2 instead of 1-1 in the series.
Small mistakes led to an epic defeat
All anyone will remember is the pain of giving up a 20-point lead, but a lot of small mistakes led to this result. Spencer Dinwiddie was putrid in his minutes, scoring zero points and having the worst plus-minus on the team with a -9. The ten minutes he played were ten too many, and that's on Ham for giving him that run.
Anthony Davis was sensational with 32 points and 11 rebounds, but he also committed five fouls. His fourth foul was a killer, forcing Ham to sit him late in the third. Denver then went on a run that reduced the deficit to ten points.
Had Davis not earned another foul and stayed in, maybe the Lakers would have gone on a run. Instead, the Nuggets had momentum and a puncher's chance with Jokic and Murray getting hot.
It's clear who the better team is
It's been ten games and two playoff series, and the biggest takeaway every person should have is the Denver Nuggets are demonstrably better than the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers can play great defensively, have their stars playing at an elite level and get help from the other role players; it won't matter.
The Nuggets will win. They'll do it with Aaron Gordon scoring 18 points on Mar. 2, or with Jokic dominating with 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in Game 1, or Murray being elite in the fourth in Game 2.
Time is a flat circle for L.A. and the Lakers will try different things, have other players step up, and new ones disappoint, but it won't matter; either way, it's just a new road to get to the same destination, a loss to the Nuggets.
Game 3 is on Thursday in Los Angeles.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.