Lakers Drop Preseason Finale 121-106 to Nuggets; Dončić Scores 15 in 19 Minutes Ahead of Wednesday Opener vs. Warriors
The Los Angeles Lakers closed their five-game NBA preseason schedule on Friday night with a 121-106 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Denver led by as many as 17 in the first quarter before Los Angeles cut the deficit to 62-55 at halftime. Luka Dončić finished with 15 points, four rebounds and three 3-pointers in 19 minutes, highlighted by a second-quarter drive through Nikola Jokić for a three-point play. Jokić posted 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Jamal Murray paced Denver with 21 points, and Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 19. In the third quarter, Denver's Cameron Johnson was ejected after his elbow to Reaves' face was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 foul on review. Reserve forward Sandro Mamukelashvili scored eight straight points late to pull Los Angeles within five, but the Lakers never got over the hump.
Head coach JJ Redick started Dončić, Reaves, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams and Walker Kessler, with Quentin Grimes coming off the bench. Redick said Grimes will still start plenty of games in the regular season and that the base starting group is not yet settled.
The Lakers open the regular season on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Warriors. (GSM, based on reporting by USA Today and Lakers Nation)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：湖人队卢卡·东契奇（77号）持球面对骑士队防守（2026年1月）。Photo: Erik Drost / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
