Nikola Jokic, Nuggets survive Lakers’ late rally without top 4 forwards

For their latest test of intestinal fortitude, the Nuggets were forced to endure a late comeback from the most clutch team in the NBA.

This time, they passed.

Nikola Jokic potted an 8-footer with 22.3 seconds left to clinch a 120-113 win over the Lakers on Thursday, keeping Denver (39-24) 1.5 games in front of Los Angeles for fifth place in the Western Conference. Sloppy throughout the night, Jokic tightened up and scored four crucial points in a row after Austin Reaves missed a game-tying free throw with 2:05 remaining.

Marcus Smart also missed a pair of potential game-tying 3-pointers as the Nuggets managed to get the ball out of Luka Doncic’s hands for a few pivotal defensive possessions. The Lakers arrived in Denver with a 17-5 record in games involving clutch time — the same situations that have been the bane of Denver’s existence since Jokic returned from a knee injury.

Jokic’s 28 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists helped him overcome a nine-turnover night. Jamal Murray matched him with 28 points. Julian Strawther added 18. Christian Braun played a team-high 40 minutes, amassing 15 points, five rebounds and four assists while bottling up Doncic admirably. The Slovenian star’s 27 points required 24 shots.

LeBron James was able to return late in the game after a brief injury scare in the fourth quarter. With a baseline jumper in the first frame, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goals made in NBA history.

JJ Redick’s top priority defensively against Jokic, he said before opening tip, would be to “stop him from getting the ball” — a principle consistent with how Utah guarded him Monday and how Redick schemed for him as a first-time head coach last season. But Jokic was able to catch at the elbows without any resistance early in the game this time as Deandre Ayton guarded him straight up.

Denver jumped out to an 11-0 lead. The Lakers took four minutes to make their first shot from the field. When they finally did, they failed to get back, and Braun sprinted the other way for an easy fast-break bucket off the make. Ayton checked out with a 16-3 deficit and never returned. The Lakers said it was a knee injury at halftime.

Jaxson Hayes took over as their center. As the game went on, they downsized to defend Jokic more often, led by the usual suspect Rui Hachimura. Sometimes, they started a possession with the big on him, but also tried to bring a second defender over to front after giving up a switch. Five minutes after halftime, Jokic was at the offensive end of the floor when he picked up his fourth foul, drawn by former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart (6-foot-3).

David Adelman kept him in the game for a precarious few minutes. Jokic was compromised at the defensive end, especially when Los Angeles attacked him in space, but he also had a triple-double by the end of the third quarter. Denver was nursing a 93-86 lead into the fourth when Doncic banked a circus 3-pointer while falling into the stands.