The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a 122-109 loss to Denver Nuggets on Monday night after their talisman LeBron James had to sit out with soreness in his ankle. Nikola Jokic was the star of the show for the Nuggets as the Serbian scored 14 points along with a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor, 3 of 3 from the line, scored 11 rebounds, and provided 16 assists.
This loss breaks the Lakers’ season-best five-match winning streak and they will now look to bounce in the upcoming matches. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham revealed James didn’t want to take any risk regarding his injury.
“You know with LeBron, it’s just a daily thing, in terms of how he’s feeling,” coach Darvin Ham said before the Lakers’ 122-109 loss.
“He listens to his body. Very responsible in that regard. At the end of the day, we’ve been playing well, obviously. Again, we don’t want to subject our guys to something that a little rest can help in the short term, or force the issue where it turns into a long-term issue. So him sitting out is totally fine.”
Meanwhile, James is on the cusp of entering the 38000-point club and joining the great Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the elite company. The veteran needs another 35 points to reach the milestone and he will look to achieve the same in the next match he plays.
On the other hand, Ham admitted the team hasn’t the rub of the green on their side as they have lost six to seven close matches this season.
“A lot of where our record is … is a lot of self-inflicted (wounds). I can immediately ring off about six or seven games that could’ve went our way that didn’t,” Ham said.
“And so it’s the process of constantly trying to sustain what you’re doing well. I think our competitive edge, the way we lock down and defend at different moments, our togetherness, the way we share the ball at different moments, and our accountability. Guys understand if it’s a breakdown, why the defense broke down, or why we didn’t get a good look on a particular offensive possession. Acknowledging it and trying to do better.”
The Lakers will next take on Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.
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