LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored 26 points and Anthony Davis added 23 points in a 121-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night to give the Los Angeles Lakers their first win of the season.
Russell Westbrook gave the Lakers 18 points (1-5) after losing the first five games of the season under first-year head coach Durbin Hamm. Los Angeles is the last unbeaten team in the NBA.
Hamm celebrated with the team in the locker room and bathed in celebratory water.
“We had to prove something ourselves,” said Hamm. “Not to the world, not to the media. We had to prove it to ourselves. I’m happy with the reaction throughout the game.”
Westbrook, who has again come off the bench and accepted the role, drove down the lane in the final minutes as the Lakers wrapped up their victory and scored on a layup to extend the Lakers’ lead to 117-106.
In the third quarter, he did his duty by raising his arms to make the fans stand.
“I’ve said it since day one, I’ll do whatever it takes for my team to win,” Westbrook said.
With Nikola Djokic scoring 23 points and Jamal Murray adding a season-high 21, the Nuggets (4-3) have played four of their last five games and two in a row before Sunday’s loss. was
Austin Reeves made a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and Lonnie Walker IV drove a baseline dunk to give the Lakers a 113-100 advantage. That 13-point lead was his biggest of the season.
The Lakers have made 13 3-pointers on 13-for-30 shooting this season after struggling with long-range shooting in the past five games. The Nuggets made 15 of his 3-pointers.
Davis played despite being aggressive early on and a questionable Sunday after missing one game with a sore hip. He tweaked his back as the Nuggets beat the Lakers 110-99 in Denver Wednesday against Denver.
Davis, who called Sunday’s game a must-win, said he will have to deal with the pain.
“It’s day to day,” said Davis. “Some days I feel great.
The Lakers led 55-51 at halftime. They trailed him by 10 points in the first quarter, but overcame that deficit by halftime.
“They were playing desperately,” Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said. “I got them and I felt like I missed it.”
Joyful Lass
Charles Barkley recently said the Lakers are “taking Russell Westbrook’s joy out of basketball.” Accept the gift that is given.Losing is not that much fun.Honestly,I love to see my teammates thrive.Seeing others doing great things. And I feel happy.”
on the rafters
Hall of Famer George Mikan has retired his jersey. His family was there to celebrate the honor and see the No. 99 unveiled. He retired from Jersey alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Jamal Wilkes and James Worthy. He is the 11th player to do so. Worthy was there on Sunday and talked about mikan.
tip in
Nuggets: G Bones Hyland missed the game with a sore left hip… G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ankle sprain) returned Sunday, scoring nine points… ate his popcorn.
Lakers: Pau Gasol, who won two championships with the Lakers, attended the unveiling of the Mikan jersey and Sunday’s game. His jersey will be retired by the Lakers in March.
next
Nuggets: Take three days off before Thursday’s game in Oklahoma City.
The Lakers: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
___
Other AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports