Rui: Lakers discussed failures vs. Jokić, Nuggets in team meeting before blowout loss | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

The Los Angeles Lakers are so aware of their games against the Denver Nuggets that they had a team meeting about it before Saturday’s game.

Rui Hachimura revealed as much when he told reporters before the contest (40 second mark): “We just talked about it before training, in the meeting. The last two years we have been fighting against them. So tonight we have to show what we have been working on, I think our chemistry is much better than before.”

The meeting didn’t exactly work.

Denver handled the Lakers with relative ease in a 127-102 victory, continuing its dominance over the Purple and Gold. Including the playoffs, the Nuggets have now won 13 of the last 14 meetings.

These playoff games have been the toughest for the Lakers, as Nikola Jokić and Co. swept them in the 2023 Western Conference Finals and eliminated them in five games in the first round last season.

It looked like Los Angeles might turn its fortunes around with a six-point halftime lead in Saturday’s game, but the Nuggets outscored the home team 37-15 in an overwhelming performance in the third quarter.

The score was never in doubt in the fourth.

Jokić just missed a triple-double with 34 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block, while Michael Porter Jr. added 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. No one from the Lakers scored more than Austin Reaves’ 19 as they simply couldn’t keep up with the visitors.

They’ll get another chance to figure things out against Denver on Feb. 22.