The LA Lakers led from start to finish to whip the Denver Nuggets 120-108 on Wednesday. Without Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, the Mile High City team had no answer for Luka Doncic, who exploded for 21 points in the first quarter. The Slovenian finished the game with 31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals.Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets for the second straight game without their star duo. The high-flying forward tallied 26 points, 11 rebounds and one steal. Russell Westbrook contributed 12 points, nine rebounds and two steals. The former MVP went 4-for-14, including 1-for-4 in his return to Crypto.com Arena.Denver Nuggets vs LA Lakers player stats and box scoreDenver Nuggets player stats and box scorePlayerPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG3-PT FGFT+/-Aaron Gordon261101049-145-93-4-22Peyton Watson12220135-81-21-4-12Michael Porter Jr.12413025-101-51-1-16Russell Westbrook12492034-141-43-5-15Christian Braun10430024-60-12-4-15Zeke Nnaji0200000-60-20-0-1Hunter Tyson6110012-60-42-2+14Spencer Jones9300114-80-31-1-7Vlatko Cancar2830021-40-20-00PJ Hall5210202-21-10-0+11Jalen Pickett14452005-94-60-0+3Dario SaricDNP- --------DeAndre JordanDNP- --------LA Lakers player stats and box scorePlayerPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG3-PT FGFT+/-Dorian Finney-Smith14441005-73-41-2+26Jaxson Hayes6701103-40-00-2+11Luka Doncic319721610-214-97-10+20Austin Reaves22582118-162-74-4+13Jordan Goodwin8334012-70-34-4+1Jarred Vanderbilt10213034-60-12-2+6Christian Koloko4400012-20-00-0-3Gabe Vincent12010014-64-60-0+7Shake Milton1100000-40-11-2-11Bronny James0000000-00-00-0-4Dalton Knecht12310004-103-71-2-6Cam ReddishDNP- --------Alex LenDNP- --------Markieff MorrisDNP- --------Denver Nuggets vs LA Lakers Game SummaryThe Denver Nuggets took on the LA Lakers on Wednesday, the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the rivals. Denver, which held out Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray hours before tip-off, would lean again on the supporting cast to carry the team. The Nuggets hoped to pull off a road win to secure the season series.LA opened the first quarter with a 14-2 blast. Luka Doncic had nine points and two assists during that stretch. Denver closed the gap before the Lakers surged again behind the Slovenian, who finished the period with 21 points. Doncic and Co. led 46-29 after one quarter.The Nuggets slowed down Doncic in the second quarter and won the period 30-27 to cut the deficit to 73-59 at halftime. Aaron Gordon had 16 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes, while Russell Westbrook added nine points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals. Denver dominated the paint, making 8-for-12 shots to keep up with the home team.The Lakers opened the third quarter with a flurry behind Doncic and Austin Reaves. Jaxson Hayes’ alley-oop dunk from Dorian Finney-Smith extended the lead to 87-70 with 7:08 left in the period. LA sustained its dominance to carry a 105-77 advantage entering the last 12 minutes.Austin Reaves' two free throws with 4:44 remaining gave the Lakers a 114-95 lead. Denver raised the white flag after to allow the home team to cruise to a 120-108 win.