NBA: LeBron James sets all-time field-goal mark in Lakers' loss to Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets leaned on another dominant performance from Nikola Jokic to secure a 120-113 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night in Denver in an important Western Conference clash.

Jokic recorded a triple-double with 28 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds, overcoming nine turnovers to guide the Nuggets to the win. Denver received balanced scoring throughout the lineup, with Jamal Murray also scoring 28 points, while Julian Strawther added 18. Christian Braun chipped in 15 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 14 points off the bench.

LeBron James scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the Lakers and reached another historic milestone in his 23rd NBA season. James entered the game two field goals behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA’s all-time made field goals list and surpassed the Hall of Famer with a 12-foot turnaround jumper in the first quarter. The basket gave James 15,842 made shots in his career.

Luka Doncic led Los Angeles with 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, but he also picked up his 15th technical foul of the season during the second quarter. One more technical will trigger an automatic one-game suspension. Jaxson Hayes added 19 points for the Lakers, while Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves each finished with 16 points. The loss snapped Los Angeles’ three-game winning streak.

Despite missing four of their top forwards, the Nuggets controlled the game from the start and led throughout the contest. Denver built a double-digit advantage several times and held a 102-91 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers made a late push and cut the deficit to 112-111 with 2:05 remaining after Reaves split a pair of free throws. Jokic responded with a short hook shot to extend the lead to three points and later followed a missed 3-pointer by Los Angeles with a running layup to make it 116-111 with 22.3 seconds remaining.

Doncic missed a 3-point attempt from the top of the arc with 20.1 seconds left, allowing Denver to seal the victory at the free-throw line.

The teams exchanged scoring runs during the first half, but Denver pulled ahead by as many as 15 points and carried a 64-54 lead into halftime.

Los Angeles trimmed the deficit to 82-78 midway through the third quarter, but Denver answered with another run to push the lead back to double digits. Doncic kept the Lakers within reach, knocking down two 3-pointers in the final minute of the period, including a difficult bank shot from a sharp angle to cut the margin to 93-86 entering the fourth quarter.

Denver ultimately held off the late rally to secure the key conference victory. -Field Level Media/Reuters