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DENVER (AP) Jamal Murray scored a season-high 34 points, Nikola Jokic recorded his 11th triple-double of the season, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-109 on Monday night. Pain in left ankle.
Jokic finished with 14 points (5 of 5 shots) and had 11 rebounds and 16 assists to help the Nuggets win their 11th straight home game. It’s the longest home streak since winning the 12th straight in 2018.
Denver is tied with Memphis for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Russell Westbrook finished with 25, Thomas Bryant added 17, and the Lakers added 10 boards.
James was ruled out hours before tip-off, joining injured forward Anthony Davis (right foot) on the bench.
The Lakers entered the game without Troy Brown Jr. (left quadriceps strain), Austin Reeves (hamstring strain) and Lonnie Walker IV (hamstring inflammation).
With a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets saw the Lakers close by. But Murray calmed things down with a 3-pointer.
Murray’s scoring streak was another big step as the point guard bounced back from a torn ACL that caused him to miss all of last season.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone challenged the team to stay strong against the Lakers team.
“When a team is missing LeBron, you have to fight human nature…and all those guys,” Malone said. “You can’t relax.”
tip in
Lakers: G Kendrick Nunn scores 15 points. … G Dennis Schroder called for a technical in the third quarter.
Nuggets: F Zeke Nnaji turned 22 on Monday. … The Nuggets were called on his two delays for his technical fouls in the game. … Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 points and Bruce Brown scored 15. … Jokic’s 87th career he had a triple-double.
davis update
The Lakers are beginning the process of strengthening Davis following his return.
Manager Durbin Hamm said: “There will be various benchmarks built over the course of the next few weeks and if he meets those marks and ticks those boxes, he’ll be back on the court.” “Would you mind posting the timetable?
Player of the Week
James was named Monday’s Western Conference Player of the Week. He has averaged 35 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists over his last three games.
James, 38, is 35 points away from joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a member of the NBA’s 38,000-point club.
next
The Lakers: Start a five-game homestand against Dallas on Thursday.
The Nuggets: Host Phoenix on Wednesday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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