The Lakers and Nuggets faced off on Monday night in the final game of the evening and put on quite the show despite the Nuggets taking much of the second half to rest its weary starters.
The game was tight throughout and was tied at 88 going to the final quarter when Denver deployed a Monte Morris, P.J. Dozier, Keita Bates-Diop, Bol Bol, and Mason Plumlee lineup against the Lakers regular rotation for the entire 12 minutes of the final period. Those Nuggets reserves played incredibly well, particularly on offense, and gave the Lakers defense fits as they continue trying to find their pre-restart form on that end.
The good news for the Lakers is that, while it might’ve been more difficult than they would’ve liked, they pulled out a win and continue to see excellent play from Kyle Kuzma in the bubble. Kuzma had 25 points, six rebounds, and three assists on Monday on a red-hot 11-of-16 shooting (including 3-of-5 from three). None of those shots were bigger than his game-winning three with 0.4 seconds left and the game tied to give L.A. the win.
KYLE KUZMA BURIES THE GAME-WINNING JUMPER WITH 0.4 REMAINING!
Final in Orlando:@nuggets 121@Lakers 124 pic.twitter.com/BtyeYKBnve
— NBA (@NBA) August 11, 2020
As for having Bol’s hand in his face, Kuzma dropped an all-time quote after the game.
“I think Jesus could be in front of me and I’d probably still shoot.”
— Kyle Kuzma, on Bol Bol contesting his game-winner
— Bill Oram (@billoram) August 11, 2020
For a Lakers team that expects to see LeBron James be more consistent offensively once the playoffs roll around and hopes Anthony Davis can be a dominant force regularly, finding that third scoring option will be important to their title chances. They need their two stars who have yet to shine as we know they can together in the same game in the bubble to do so, but they also will need someone to step up. Right now, it appears Kuzma has the confidence to do so and his efforts thus far in Orlando have been admirable. James finished with 29 points and 12 assists as he looks to be rounding into postseason form, and while Davis had a quieter second half, he still finished with 27 points on strong efficiency.
As for Denver, seeing their bench unit play this well given depth questions in the bubble with Will Barton and Gary Harris still out is incredibly encouraging. While none of those five figure to play that many minutes again come playoff time, this experience against a Lakers team that was very much trying down the stretch will be good for Dozier, Plumlee, and the rest who all impressed in extended minutes offensively.
We’ll see if gutting out this win can perk up the Lakers a bit, who have looked pretty flat in the bubble thus far, particularly since locking down the one-seed. Kuzma getting it going is a great sign though, because one has to believe the two superstars will be at their best when it counts the most.