The Los Angeles Lakers entered their NBA regular season matchup against the Denver Nuggets riding high, despite the recent loss against Orlando Magic. However, they suffered a tough 102-127 loss, marking their second straight defeat. Following the game, Austin Reaves didn’t hold back, offering a bold take on why the Lakers faltered.
The Nuggets have been a thorn in the Lakers’ side for several seasons, but Reaves dismissed the idea that Denver’s past dominance was a factor in the defeat. Instead, he credited the Nuggets for simply outplaying them. “Last year was last year. The year before was so long ago, I could barely remember what I did yesterday. Yeah, tonight they beat the s— out of us,” Reaves said bluntly.
The game started on a promising note for the Lakers, as they went into halftime with a six-point lead. However, the third quarter proved disastrous, with Denver outscoring Los Angeles 37-15 to take a commanding lead that the Lakers couldn’t overcome.
“I think we just played one of the worst quarters you could possibly play,” Reaves admitted. “The energy was down from the first possession in the third quarter, and they took advantage and ran away with the game.”
Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Reaves on the Lakers’ lack of competitiveness
The Nuggets took full control in the third quarter, capitalizing on what Reaves described as the Lakers’ lack of competitiveness. Postgame, he emphasized that effort and energy should never be an issue for the team.
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“I’m sure JJ [Redick] said [it] as well, [it] just wasn’t good enough,” Reaves said. “That should never be the problem. If we compete and lose off of not making shots or other things, other than not playing hard, then you can live with those results. Tonight, in that third quarter, [we] just didn’t play hard.”
JJ Redick echoes Reaves’ sentiments
Head coach JJ Redick didn’t mince words when addressing the team’s struggles. He pointed to the lack of competitiveness as the primary issue in the loss. “Schematically, certainly we’ll have to review some stuff,” Redick said. “Clearly, the spirit to compete just wasn’t there… We’ll solve it like we solve other problems, but actually, we’ll do that internally.”
Redick also downplayed any notion that Denver’s historical success against the Lakers influenced the outcome. “I had a pretty clear idea of what happened,” Redick said. “But whatever it was, it was not because we were haunted by the ghosts of the past or something like that. It was kind of obvious to me what happened there. [It] was just not the right spirit.”
