J.J. Redick’s conclusion on why Lakers lost to Nuggets: They just ‘stopped playing’ in the 3rd quarter

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Two quarters through the Nov. 23 matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, the Lakers were in control with a six-point lead and seemed in a great position to pick up their eighth home win of the 2024-25 regular season already.

But the wheels fell off for the Lakers across the final 24 minutes of the contest, and Los Angeles once again came up short against a Nuggets team that’s had its number in recent years.

Lakers head coach J.J. Redick spoke to the media on Monday and gave his reasoning behind his team’s collapse against Nikola Jokic and company after the halftime break.

The Lakers were outscored 70-39 during the final two frames of the contest and lost to Denver by 25 points.

While the third and fourth quarters were both woeful for Los Angeles, the third period was particularly disastrous. The Nuggets more than doubled up the Lakers’ point total in that frame, considering Denver mustered 37 points as a team compared to Los Angeles’ 15.

Russell Westbrook might have been the best guard on Nov. 23 for a Nuggets team that employs an elite floor general in Jamal Murray. The former Laker seemed motivated to go up against his previous squad, as he nearly totaled a triple-double with 14 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists and one steal. He also shot 6-of-10 from the field and committed only three turnovers.

Los Angeles’ loss to the Nuggets on Saturday marked its second consecutive defeat. The Lakers’ previous winning streak was snapped at six games when they fell to the Orlando Magic at Crypto.com Arena back on Nov. 21.

The storied franchise currently sits as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with a solid record of 10-6. In addition, the Lakers are just two games back of the Golden State Warriors, the No. 1 seed in the conference.

Los Angeles will look to redeem itself for its sloppy second half against Denver and also avoid picking up its third loss in a row when it takes on the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on Tuesday night. The Suns are on a losing streak too, as they have dropped their last five contests.