LOS ANGELES – It was supposed to be different this time.

When the Los Angeles Lakers met during a shootaround ahead of their Saturday matchup with the Denver Nuggets, coach JJ Redick acknowledged the recent history between the two teams and confronted it head-on.

Entering the game, Denver had won twelve of its previous thirteen games, including eliminating the Lakers in the 2023 and 2024 playoffs. The games often followed a familiar script, with the Lakers hanging around until the Nuggets eventually defeated gaining distance – often in crunch time – through a mix of shotmaking, execution, size and chemistry.

But Redick also emphasized to his group that the Lakers could beat the Nuggets with the right tactical adjustments, attention to detail and competitive spirit. Players embraced the message, saying they saw the rematch as a sign of how much they had improved since last season.

This was a new season. The past was the past. Or so they hoped.

As was the case with the recent games between Denver and Los Angeles, history repeated itself regardless of the Lakers’ best efforts. This time, the Nuggets outscored the Lakers 37-15 in the third quarter, turning a six-point halftime deficit into a 16-point fourth-quarter lead.

Denver extended its lead to more than 20 points twice in the fourth quarter and ultimately won 127-102 – the Nuggets’ biggest victory over the Lakers during this period of dominance. Los Angeles fell to 10-6 and 7-2 at home.

The Lakers have now lost thirteen of fourteen games to the Nuggets.

“Tonight they beat us,” said Austin Reaves, who led the team with 19 points and six assists.

The Nuggets did this despite the absence of starting power forward Aaron Gordon – who was a huge thorn in the Lakers’ side with his offensive rebounding, finishing and defense against LeBron James – and while on the second night of a back-to-back was after a heartbreaking loss to Dallas.

The Lakers, meanwhile, brought back small forward Rui Hachimura, who had missed the last four games with a sprained ankle, allowing him to bulk up and score on the front line. But it didn’t matter much as the Lakers were overwhelmed by Nikola Jokić (34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists) and Michael Porter Jr. (24 points and 11 rebounds), who tore down their defense and controlled the glass. route to the big victory.

“It was just bad overall,” Davis said of the Lakers’ performance.

The Lakers were adamant after the game that the one-sided nature of recent games had not crossed their minds as Denver began their second half. But it was hard to believe that then several troubling trends from the previous ones reversed.

Jokić defeated Davis, who scored just 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting. D’Angelo Russell struggled again (seven points on 2-of-9 shooting), adding to the list of his subpar performances against the Nuggets. Russell and James (18 points, six rebounds and seven assists) both left the arena without speaking to the media.

James had six turnovers and has 36 from his previous six games (6.0 per game). Denver dominated the glass (48-32) and points in the paint (64-40). The Nuggets also scored 31 points off 15 Lakers turnovers (and 26 fast-break points, although the Lakers outscored them by 27).

But even more disheartening for the Lakers was that their heads dropped and their spirits crumbled. The Nuggets’ confidence grew, calling back all the big runs and shots they had made before (especially in Crypto.com Arena). The home crowd became quiet and tense.

The Nuggets punched the Lakers in the mouth, and the Lakers immediately folded and accepted what seemingly became their inevitable fate in these matchups.

“I have a pretty clear idea of ​​what happened in the third,” Redick said. “But whatever it was, it wasn’t because we were being haunted by ghosts from the past or anything like that. It was pretty clear to me what happened there. Just not the right spirit.”

Davis in particular had an unusually bad night. He was spectacular this season, playing at an MVP and first-team All-NBA level (30.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals on 55.6/ 40.6/78.1 shooting splits). But he struggled against Jokić in a way he hadn’t since opening night of the 2023-2024 season, leading to Davis’ worst game of the season.

Davis became too jump-shot happy, settling for contested looks instead of attacking the rim with the same determination he often does. Once he got out of rhythm, he tried to force things inside with running layups and floaters, and Denver’s size and length could hinder him.

Jokić will almost always be the best big man (and player) on the floor against the Lakers, but the Lakers need the gap between Davis and Jokić to be smaller than it was on Saturday.

“I just missed shots. I think it all looks great,” Davis said. “It’s a miss-or-make competition. I will certainly earn more than I will miss. You always wish you could make every shot. I felt confident in every shot I made. These are recordings that I normally make. All of us, to be honest. We just missed shots that we normally all make. But I love every shot I took tonight. They just didn’t go in.”

The loss prompted Redick to say he and his coaching staff need to take a deeper look at fixing the Lakers defense, which ranks 27th in the defensive rankings as of Sunday.

The Lakers’ tough defense has allowed opponents to successfully handle mismatches far too often. Denver was able to get smaller players on Jokić and slower players on Murray, bringing in extra help and rotations from the Lakers defense that ultimately led to open 3s, cuts into space and driving lanes.

“Part of coaching is playing mole,” Redick said. “I and my staff will also take some of the responsibility for that. It’s not just players who aren’t executing the game plan. It’s all of us. We’re all on the same team. We all want the same result. We all want to be a good defensive team. So we have to figure that out together.”

The Lakers will ultimately have to find the Nuggets as well if they want to advance through the postseason. If this game was indeed a benchmark for the Lakers, it’s clear they still have a ways to go as the gap between these two teams is as wide as ever.

(Top photo of LeBron James: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)