LOS ANGELES — New coach.
New coaching staff.
Similar roster and personnel.
And for the Lakers, a very familiar result in another matchup against the Denver Nuggets, a 127-102 defeat at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.
There was acknowledgment – but not dwelling, according to coach JJ Redick – of the Lakers’ recent ugly history with the Nuggets, losing 12 of the previous 13 matchups between the teams entering Saturday, including being eliminated from the playoffs by Denver the last two seasons.
There was optimism that Saturday would be a different story.
It wasn’t for the Lakers, who dropped to 10-6 on the season and suffered their second consecutive home loss after winning their first seven games at Crypto.com Arena to open the season.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokić, as he typically has against the Lakers, dominated, finishing with 34 points (12-of-20 shooting), 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Anthony Davis didn’t match Jokić’s physicality or production, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
LeBron James (18 points on 7-of-17 shooting, seven assists, six rebounds) struggled with ball security, recording six of the Lakers’ 15 giveaways.
And as the Lakers have spoken about numerous times through the first month of the season, it was their transition defense that let them down.
The Nuggets scored 31 points off the Lakers’ turnovers and 26 fastbreak points, neutralizing the Lakers’ 27 fastbreak points and 18 takeaways for 18 points.
Austin Reaves finished with 19 points (7-of-13 shooting) and six assists, while Max Christie scored 12 points off the bench in 17 minutes.
But their contributions weren’t enough to overcome a third quarter that went in the Nuggets’ favor, 37-15, helping Denver turn a six-point deficit at halftime (63-57) into a 16-point lead (94-78).
The Nuggets opened the fourth on a 9-2 run, giving Denver a 23-point lead.
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The Lakers cut the deficit to 16 but didn’t get any closer. Former Laker Russell Westbrook hit a 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a 26-point lead (116-90) with 4:23 left, with Redick pulling his rotation players after calling a timeout.
Michael Porter Jr., who’s shot well against the Lakers in recent history, had 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and four assists.
The Lakers will get a couple of days off before traveling to Phoenix for an NBA Cup Group Play matchup against the Suns on Tuesday, the first night of a back-to-back with a road game against the Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday.