Lakers Lose Game 1 vs. Nuggets 114-103: Russell Struggles, LeBron Fades Late

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers, as LeBron James noted before the series against Denver kicked off Saturday with Game 1, will need to play near-flawless basketball to move past the Nuggets into the second round.

Fair to say on Saturday they didn't clear the bar in their 114-103 loss.

It wasn't all terrible. The Lakers actually led by double digits in the second quarter before Denver came roaring back. Still, LA led by three at the half. But in the second half, the Lakers fell apart offensively. Completely and totally. 43 points just isn't going to get it done. And overall, the offensive effort had too many massive holes. Start with a 6-20, 1-9 night from D'Angelo Russell. But Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura were total non-factors. The Lakers had one bench player (Taurean Prince) score. Even worse, the Lakers only had one bench player shoot.

LeBron, while productive overall, was a non-factor in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over seven times. The Lakers were under 28% from 3.

Anthony Davis answered the bell with 32/14/5, plus four blocks, and Prince off the bench was a nice boost. Not everything was bad for the Lakers, but Denver is elite, and won't do you any favors to help win games. You have to beat them.

If the Lakers are going to have a chance, they have to win Game 2 on Monday. It's hard to see them, or anyone, beating Denver four times in five tries.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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