Kendrick Nunn lauds LA Lakers rookie Max Christie after strong outing against Denver Nuggets: "That’s always a gift to have as a rookie"

The shorthanded LA Lakers fell 122-109 to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. The Lakers, without stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis due to ankle and foot injuries, were no match for the No. 1 seeded Nuggets.

Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists on 5-for-5 (100.0%) shooting, marking his league-best 11th triple-double of the season. Meanwhile, Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray scored a season-high 34 points.

It was a tough night for LA, but the game still provided an opportunity for others to step up, including rookie wing Max Christie, who finished with a career-high 14 points on 6-for-8 (75.0%) shooting in the loss.

This prompted Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn to heap some praise on his young teammate.

“Max is special. He’s a sponge. He listens. Plays hard. Competes,” Nunn said.

“That’s always a gift to have as a rookie. I think he’s doing everything the right way… puts in work. He’s a hard worker,” Nunn continued.

Max Christie, the No. 35 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the LA Lakers, hasn’t gotten many opportunities this season. Christie is averaging 3.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game on 41.4% shooting in just 13.5 minutes per game. However, he was considered a high-upside wing prospect coming out of college with good size (6-foot-6) and scoring ability.

The main concerns surrounding Christie's game were his shooting consistency and strength at the NBA level. So perhaps the 19-year-old will be able to build off his strong performance against Denver and become a reliable rotation piece for LA.

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LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham praises Nikola Jokic and his team’s overall competitiveness

LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham

After losing to Denver, LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham spoke about how impressed he is by Nikola Jokic’s unique ability to impact games.

"The way (Jokic) puts his fingerprints all over the game, that’s a rarity, especially at his size. It’s only a few of those guys in the league that’s able to do that,” Ham said.

Ham also praised his team’s overall competitiveness while missing their star players.

“Kudos to our guys — they kept fighting and just had a couple bad turnovers, couple balls that didn’t go our way, couple shots didn't go down,” Ham said.

“The group that was out there they were competitive. They gave it their all until we couldn’t give anymore,” Ham continued.

The Lakers had five players score in double digits, led by veteran point guard Russell Westbrook with 25 points. However, the loss still ended the Lakers’ five-game winning streak and dropped them back down to 12th in the Western Conference at 19-22.

The Lakers will now look to bounce back on Thursday at home against Dallas.