Jokic lifts Nuggets past Lakers

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Nikola Jokic scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102 on Saturday, continuing their dominance of the National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry.

The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons.

Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr. added 24 points and 11 rebounds, Jamal Murray had 14 points and Russell Westbrook had 14 points and 11 assists.

Denver outscored the Lakers 70-39 in the second half to run away with the contest, giving Michael Malone his team-record 443 coaching victory with the Nuggets.

“The biggest thing is we won,” Malone said. “I loved how we came out in that third quarter. We got stops. We got out and ran.”

“And then the players — I’m not the coach I am without the guys like Nikola, Jamal... and everybody that has come through that door.”

The Lakers (10-6) had won six of their past seven games while the Nuggets (9-6) had lost three of their four prior starts.

Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 19 points while LeBron James added 18 and Anthony Davis, second in NBA scoring, had 14 points and 10 rebounds.