Five takeaways from the Lakers’ 116-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets
Lakers forward Julius Randle shoots as Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic defends during the second half Friday night at Staples Center. Randle posted the first triple-double of his career in the game, though the Lakers lost.
Here are five things we learned from the Lakers’ 116-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday at Staples Center:
1) Julius Randle was a bright spot for the Lakers against the Nuggets.
Randle had yhe first triple-double of his career, getting 13 points, a career-high 10 assists and 18 rebounds.
He was six-of-10 from the field.
2) The fans cheered every move Kobe Bryant made. And they cheered the shots he made, too.
Bryant scored a game-high 28 points.
He was 10-of-22 from the field, four-of-nine from three-point range.
“You are going to miss seeing Number 24 out there playing,” Lakers Coach Byron Scott said. “He played the game with so much passion. His love for basketball is going to be truly missed.”
3) The Lakers actually shot pretty well from the three-point line.
They made 43.5% (10-of-23) of their three-pointers.
4) The problem for the Lakers was the same problem they have had all season -- playing defense.
They gave up 34 points in the second quarter, allowing the Nuggets to open a 12-point lead.
The Lakers yielded 33 points in the fourth quarter, allowing the Nuggets to put the game away.
5) Jordan Clarkson was on his game Friday night. Clarkson had 20 points on eight-of-16 shooting, four-of-seven on three-pointers.
He added four rebounds and one assist.
Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter @BA_Turner
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