Mar 6, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) moves the ball against the New York Knicks during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The Denver Nuggets took down the Los Angeles Lakers 131-126 on Friday night behind a 28-point outing from superstar center Nikola Jokic.
While the Nuggets got the win at home, nobody expected the Lakers to keep it as close as they did. The Lakers were playing without both LeBron James and Luka Doncic on Friday, but their other guys stepped up in their place.
Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht dropped 32 points on 5-13 shooting from deep, but star guard Austin Reaves looked like the best player on the court. Reaves took over the game with 37 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals, shooting 13-26 from the field and 4-10 from deep.
The Lakers finished their four-game road trip with four straight losses, and despite playing without James in three of them and Doncic in the last one, the losing streak is wildly disappointing. After their loss to the Nuggets, Reaves got honest about their poor road trip and the high expectations on their shoulders.
"We went 0-4, so it’s a pretty bad trip," Reaves said. "But s\*\*\*, JJ said a week ago, ‘Everybody’s, like, Lakers in five.’ We just don’t listen to any of it. We know when we're fully healthy and got everybody we have a really good chance to beat anybody."
> Austin Reaves:
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> "Everybody was like 'Lakers in 5.' We just don't listen to any of it. We know when we're fully healthy and got everybody we have a really good chance to beat anybody" [pic.twitter.com/wV9mun5rJm](https://t.co/wV9mun5rJm)