Denver scored first and never trailed, answering every Lakers push with one of its own. The finale closed on a 12-0 Nuggets run, and the Lakers limped out of preseason with back-to-back losses five days before the regular season opens against Golden State.
Wire to Wire
Denver led from the opening basket, building a 36-22 first quarter and never trailing again. The Lakers twice trimmed the gap to two points with 8-0 runs of their own, once right before halftime and once early in the third, but the Nuggets answered both times. The stretch that decided it came in the fourth: Denver opened with an 8-0 run to take a 102-93 lead, then sealed it with a 12-0 close over the final three minutes. By the time the buzzer sounded, both coaches had cleared their benches — Bronny James, Chris Manon, Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy and Rafael Castro closed it for Los Angeles, with Marvin Bagley III scoring all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter alone to finish it off.
Reaves Pays for It
Austin Reaves led every Laker in scoring with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting, but he also finished a team-worst -20 in 31 minutes. Matisse Thybulle was barely better at -19 across 25 minutes, managing just seven points on 3-of-7 shooting. Sandro Mamukelashvili again posted the Lakers' best plus-minus, +6 in 21 minutes off the bench, with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 5-of-10 shooting, 3 of 7 from deep. Ziaire Williams was nearly as sharp, scoring 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in just 11 minutes. Grade the night and Mamukelashvili earns the roster's only A-; Williams sits close behind at B+; Reaves, for all the scoring, grades closer to a C given the minus beside his name.
Five Days Out
Luka Doncic played only 19 minutes, finishing 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting with three threes and a -4, the shortest night of his preseason. The limited workload fits a stretch in which he was marked day-to-day for rest before being cleared to play, a dose of caution with the opener five days away. The Lakers do not play again until Wednesday, when Golden State visits for the opener, leaving Redick a rotation question to answer, starting with a bench that outplayed the starters for most of the night.
What was the final score of the Lakers-Nuggets preseason finale?
Denver won 121-106 on October 16, leading from start to finish and closing the game on a 12-0 run.
How many minutes did Luka Doncic play against the Nuggets?
Doncic played just 19 minutes, scoring 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting with three made threes, finishing at -4.
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