Associated Press
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Although the Los Angeles Lakers have inspired plenty of strong emotions during their title-laden history, the Denver Nuggets felt something that’s been rare in recent decades.
Pity.
Ty Lawson had 21 points and 10 assists, Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points and hit a big 3-pointer with 13.8 seconds left, and the Nuggets beat the struggling Lakers 112-105 Sunday night for their fifth win in seven games.
JaVale McGee scored 17 points for the Nuggets, who showed no signs of weariness after a home win over Utah one night earlier. Despite two last-minute 3-pointers by Kobe Bryant, Denver calmly maintained a lead throughout the fourth quarter of its second win in 12 days over the star-studded Lakers, who aren’t exactly putting fear or fury into their opponents.
“They’re struggling,” Denver coach George Karl said. “It’s a great win for us, but I’m not going to get overinflated.”
Staples Center was mostly silent while Los Angeles dropped to 15-18 with another mediocre performance featuring 18 turnovers, intermittent defense and little structured offense down the stretch. Bryant scored 29 points and Dwight Howard had 14 points and a career high-tying 26 rebounds for the Lakers, who have lost three straight and four of five.
“(We’re) a good team, and it’s getting better,” Karl said. “I just don’t want to get too crazy with it.”
Even when the Lakers did things right, they still went wrong. Bryant’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left cut Denver’s lead to 105-102, and Howard emphatically blocked Andre Miller’s layup attempt on the Nuggets’ next possession — but the ball went straight to Gallinari, who immediately drained a 3-pointer with 13.8 seconds left.
Again, the Nuggets were almost apologetic for the pivotal play in just their fifth road win over the Lakers in 26 meetings.
“It was a lucky bounce,” Gallinari said. “Dwight blocked the shot, and the ball came back to me, and Metta World Peace was right there, ready to block my shot. You don’t have a lot of time to think, especially in that situation, so I had to release it very quick.”
The Nuggets hung on to their lead with big late baskets from Miller and Lawson, whose layup put Denver ahead by eight points with 1:18 to play. After Gallinari’s big shot, Bryant hit another 3-pointer with 11.2 seconds left, but Miller hit two free throws before Bryant missed another desperate 3-point try.
The Lakers’ locker room was as silent as their arena after their eighth home loss of the still-young season.
“I think because of our record, the pressure is building, but so be it,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We have to overcome it, and we can. We just can’t let teams start out with 34 points in the first quarter. It just can’t happen. We’re starting to dig out every game, and somehow we have to try to figure out why that’s happening.”
Howard had an impressive game on the boards despite an injured right shoulder, matching his career high in rebounds in the final minutes. But he took just seven shots — making all of them except for a 3-point attempt — and went 2 for 6 on the free-throw line.
After the game, the Lakers said Howard aggravated his shoulder injury. He will have an MRI exam on Monday before the Lakers leave for a quick two-game trip to Texas, and Howard didn’t know whether he’ll play Tuesday at Houston.
“Everything is against us right now, but we have to keep our heads and stay together,” Howard said. “It is tough out there, because everybody expects us to win, but we have to stick together.”
Steve Nash had 10 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, while Pau Gasol had 11 points and five rebounds before leaving with a bloody nose with 1:05 to play in a collision with McGee.
Andre Iguodala had 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Nuggets, and Miller finished with 12 points and 10 assists.
“I think teams are still getting up to play them,” Iguodala said. “I mean, every time we play the Lakers, I want to play well and we want to play well. You’ve just got to go play with confidence and be mentally ready.”
When Gasol had to leave the game with a bloody nose, Denver coach George Karl chose seldom-used Earl Clark off the Lakers’ bench to shoot Gasol’s free throws with 1:05 to play. Clark coolly made both shots to trim the Nuggets’ lead to 105-99, kick-starting the Lakers’ late comeback attempt.
Antawn Jamison, who scored 33 points against the Nuggets in their previous visit to Staples Center on Nov. 20, got just four minutes of playing time, scoring two points.
BOBCATS 99, WIZARDS 71
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Kemba Walker had 20 points and seven assists, Ben Gordon scored 18 points and the Bobcats beat the Pistons in overtime for just their second win in 21 games.
Ramon Sessions added 15 points, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 11 and Bismack Biyombo had 10 points and 17 rebounds for the Bobcats.
Tayshaun Prince scored 21 points to lead Detroit, which snapped a four-game winning streak. Greg Monroe had 18 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Rodney Stuckey also scored 18 points.
Walker’s driving layup with 7.8 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 96-all, sending the game to overtime. Then, he and Tyrus Thomas had four points each for Charlotte in the extra period.
Prince’s jump hook with 2:02 left had given the Pistons a 96-94 lead.
HEAT 99, WIZARDS 71
MIAMI — LeBron James scored 24 points, Miami had an edge in rebounding and closed with a 21-0 run over the final 7:07 to beat Washington.
The Heat, beaten on the boards by a total of 38 rebounds over the previous three games, this time enjoyed a 50-39 advantage. Udonis Haslem led them with 12 rebounds.
James extended his streaks of scoring at least 20 points to 32 consecutive games this season, and 53 in a row including last year’s playoff run.
The Wizards, last in the NBA in points and shooting, hit 36 percent. They lost their fifth game in a row and fell to 0-13 on the road against Eastern Conference teams.
GRIZZLIES 92, SUNS 81
PHOENIX — Zach Randolph scored 21 points and Rudy Gay added 20 to lead Memphis.
Tony Allen scored 11 and Marc Gasol had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have won three of their last five games.
P.J. Tucker scored a career-high 17 points and Marcin Gortat added 12 points and rebounds for the Suns. Guards Goran Dragic and Sebastian Telfair combined for just 12 points and seven assists.
Phoenix has lost eight of nine and 15 of 20 dating to November 28.
Despite shooting in the mid-30 percent range for the bulk of the game, Phoenix trailed 71-65 when Markieff Morris converted a three-point play 31 seconds into the fourth quarter.
But Gasol scored four points, including a fallaway 17-footer, and Gay added a 21-foot jumper to key a 10-3 run that put the Grizzlies ahead 81-68.
THUNDER 104, RAPTORS 92
TORONTO — Russell Westbrook scored 23 points, Kevin Durant had 22 and Oklahoma City won for the 17th time in its last 20 games.
Serge Ibaka had 19 points and eight rebounds and Kevin Martin scored 16 as the Thunder enjoyed a winning start to a stretch that sees them play 11 of 13 on the road. Oklahoma City came in having played an NBA-low 12 road games this season and improved to 9-4 as visitors.
Nick Collison had 10 points and eight rebounds to help the Thunder win for the fifth time in eight games since their season-high 12-game winning streak.
Alan Anderson scored 17 of his career-high 27 points in the second quarter and Amir Johnson had 19 for the Raptors, who lost their second straight after winning eight of nine.