DENVER — Even with both teams eventually down multiple key players, Thursday night at Ball Arena was the Lakers' biggest test against a potential Western Conference playoff team in nearly a month.
And they learned more about what it'll take tocompete with the other top teams in the West, falling to the Nuggets 120-113 to kick off a stretch in which the quality of competition to picking up.
TheLakersnever led on Thursday, with the Nuggets pulling off the wire-to-wire win in a game they led by 15 points.
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals, making multiple shots to keep his team in the game.
But the Lakers were outscored 8-2 in the final two minutes to leave Denver with the loss.
Austin Reaves finished with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
LeBron James had 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds, includingmoving ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most made field goals in NBA history, but was dealing with a left elbow injury late in the game after taking a fall on a layup attempt in the fourth.
Jaxson Hayes stepped up after starting center Deandre Ayton left the game with left knee soreness, with Hayes finishing with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and five rebounds in 28 minutes.
The Nuggets jumped out to a 15-2 lead with the Lakers lacking energy early.
They outscored the Nuggets 110-106 over the final 43 ½ minutes after Ayton subbed out with the knee injury.
"We talked about the sense of urgency, the importance of this game pregame, we talked about our physicality, took us a little bit of time to do that," coach JJ Redick said. "It's difficult against good teams to spot them…13 points. Our group showed a lot of resiliency, did some really good things."
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Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 28 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. Jamal Murray added 28 points and seven assists.
What it means
The Lakers will stay at the No. 6 spot in the West, moving further behind the No. 5 Nuggets (39-24).
They dropped to 37-25 on the season.
Turning point
When Reaves split a pair of free throws with 2:05 remaining.
The Lakers would've tied the game at 112 apiece if Reaves made both, but they trailed 112-111 after he missed the second attempt, with Jokic making a driving hook shot on the Nuggets' ensuing possession to start a 6-0 run.
MVP: Nikola Jokic
Even on a night he didn't play the best, Jokic still had a triple-double and shot 10 of 15 from the field.
Stat of the game: 15
That's how many technical fouls Doncic has been assessed this season after picking up another technical in the second quarter on Thursday.
After going almost 1 ½ months across 14 games without a technical foul, Doncic picked up his 14th during Tuesday's home win over the Pelicans.
"He's aware that he's close," coach JJ Redick said ahead of Thursday's game. "And I think he's… He's trying."
If Doncic is assessed another technical for his 16th of the season, he'll have to serve a one-game suspension by league rule.
Up next
The Lakers will close out the back-to-back set when they return to Southern California on Friday.
They'll host the Pacers at Crypto.com Arena to kick off a five-game homestand.