This archive report was first published on 23 December 2019.
December 23, 2019
Los Angeles Lakers' star big man Anthony Davis was bothered by a right knee issue in the third quarter of their game against Denver, but he continued to play and produced 32 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots.
However, the Lakers' injury woes didn't end there. LeBron James, their superstar, was sidelined by a thoracic muscle strain, which he suffered in their Tuesday loss at Indiana. James played in the Lakers' Thursday game against Milwaukee, producing a triple-double, but he was unable to play in the game against Denver.
Without James, the Lakers had 19 turnovers and a season-low 18 assists, eight off their average. The Nuggets, on the other hand, won their sixth straight game to pull within three games of the Lakers in the Western Conference standings.
Denver's Paul Millsap scored 21 points, Nikola Jokic added 18, and Will Barton had 14 points and 13 rebounds in the Nuggets' 128-104 road victory over the Lakers.
"We didn't have enough juice defensively the whole game," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "That's why you see that kind of number."
