NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking Points from Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Denver Nuggets at the Staples Center in a match that garnered a lot of interest because of LeBron James. LeBron started the match needing just 13 points to pass Michael Jordan in the All-Time scoring list. He scored 31 points to become the fourth highest points scorer in NBA history. However, the Lakers lost their sixth game in the last seven, by a 115-99 scoreline.

With the loss, the Lakers now have no realistic expectations of making the playoffs this year. They have a 30-35 record and are the 11th ranked team in the Western Conference. They are now 6.5 games behind the 8th placed team, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Nuggets stopped their three-game skid and are currently the second-ranked team in the West with a 43-21 record. The Nuggets are just 1 game behind the Warriors in the race for the top playoff position in the West.

Let's have a look at the key talking points from this match:

#3 Strong showing on the glass from the Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets won the battle on the glass

The Nuggets looked like the team that wanted to win this match. They displayed immense energy on the court and thoroughly outplayed the Lakers.

The Nuggets had a great advantage on the boards in this match. They outrebounded the Lakers 55-41. Their advantage was even more visible on the offensive glass where they outrebounded the Lakers 18-5 resulting in numerous second opportunities for the team.

This constant energy on the boards resulted in the team taking 14 more shots in the match than their opponents. That proved to be a huge factor and also never allowed the Lakers to get back in this match.

#2 Great contribution from the Nuggets' starting group

Jokic and Murray were very good for the Nuggets

The Nuggets' starting lineup totally outplayed the Lakers' starting unit in this match. It was the energy of the Lakers' second group that made this game tight at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets' starting unit regained control of the match and turned this into an easy victory.

The All-Star, Nikola Jokic again filled up the stat sheet, finishing with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 8 assists. Will Barton scored a team-high 23 points. He also shot 5-11 from the 3PT line and opened the match with two consecutive three-point makes for his team. All five of the starters scored in double figures in this match. Jamal Murray and Gary Harris contributed 19 points each to the team's total.

The Nuggets will again look for this kind of consistency when they visit the Warriors in their next match.

#1 LeBron James passes Michael Jordan in all-time scoring list

LeBron James has forever been linked with Michael Jordan in the G.O.A.T. debate. He gained one over on his role model when he surpassed him in the all-time scoring list to become the fourth highest scorer in NBA history.

James is having a disappointing run with the Lakers lately and the team is likely to miss out on the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. They were fourth in the West when LeBron suffered an injury in the Christmas Day match up against the Warriors. Since then, it's been a real struggle for the team.

James is still putting up his numbers. He is averaging 27.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8 assists per game for the season. While this season looks pretty done and dusted, with extra time off for LeBron and the potential to sign a max free agent, the Lakers still look like a big threat next year.