Size doesn’t matter: The Nuggets give the LA Lakers their first defeat (118-112) despite short size
The Denver Nuggets made it to the lead in their match against the Los Angeles Lakers and defeated the only team that remained unbeaten in the season up till now. The short-sized Nuggets finally succeeded in defeating the tall Lakers who were heading towards the ninth straight victory of this season. By beating the Lakers, the Nuggets proved that size doesn’t matter.
The game was held at Pepsi Center, Denver, CO. There was a large audience that included 19155 basketball fans who had come to watch their favourite teams play. The lead changed 14 times and the game was tied 12 times. The last time when the game tied, it proved fateful for the Nuggets as that won them their first game.
Quotable Quote: The fourth quarter proved fatal for the Lakers and choked the h**l out of them. When asked how it went, the Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, “It sucked.”
Top Players
The top players of the game were Pau Gasol and Carmelo Anthony. Pau Gasol scored 17 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and gave two assists to the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the fifth double-double that he scored in his last six games. Anthony, on the other hand, scored 32 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and gave two assists to the Denver Nuggets.
Anthony also committed a technical foul but his score saved the day for the Nuggets.
When the game was tied in the end of the fourth quarter, Earl Smith III, also known as J. R. Smith, was given the ball and he was hesitating to go ahead. He described his feelings later when he said, “I was thinking about not taking the shot because I missed the one before that and I didn't know how George was going to react,” Smith said referring to his coach George Karl. "When I saw how far Kobe [Bryant] was playing off, I just had to shoot."
The Lakers reserve guard Shannon Brown was playing very well with his 19 points and two reel dunks that he scored in a losing effort.
U-turn
The game took a U-turn in the direction of the Nuggets when the match was tied at 105 and J. R. Smith hit a three pointer that sparked a lead for the Nuggets 11-0.
Luckily for the Nuggets, the Lakers missed the next four shots that they were given. After that, Anthony extended the lead of the Nuggets to seven by hitting two jumpers for them.
Gary Forbes, who plays as a forward for the Nuggets, also played an outstanding game during the 16 minutes of his play.
Kobe Bryant becomes the youngest player to score 26,000 points
This was one of the most memorable games for Kobe Bryant as he scored 26,000 career points. He dived to score a 13-foot jumper when only 49 seconds were left in the second quarter and took the title. This is an honour for him being the youngest player to reach this mark at an age of 32 years and 80 days, besting Wilt Chamberlain by 34 days.
"It was one of those games where it was run after run after run," The Lakers coach Phil Jackson said later. "I was waiting for our run to catch theirs but we didn't get it."
At halftime, the Lakers were leading the game by 5 but after that a 14-point lead started with a 13-2 surge at the start of the third quarter and it stopped only when the Nuggets had won.
Coming Up
The Los Angeles Lakers will play against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, and Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. The Denver Nuggets will play against Phoenix Suns on Monday, New York Knicks on Tuesday and Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.
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