NBA: Nuggets use big 3rd quarter to pull away from Lakers

Nikola Jokic had 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the visiting Denver Nuggets in a 127-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 of his 24 points in the third quarter, helping the Nuggets outscore Los Angeles 37-15 to take a 94-78 advantage into the fourth. Porter also grabbed 11 rebounds.

Christian Braun scored 16 points, Russell Westbrook contributed 14 points and 11 assists off the bench and Jamal Murray also scored 14 points for the Nuggets, who had lost three of four.

Denver, which was coming off a 123-120 loss to the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, shot 61 percent from the floor, including 16-for-32 from 3-point distance, and scored 31 points off 18 turnovers.

Austin Reaves scored 19 points, LeBron James had 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists and Anthony Davis finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped two in a row following a six-game winning streak.

The Lakers led by as many as 10 points late in the first half, but Denver trimmed it to six at the intermission and then scored the first eight points of the second half to move ahead 65-63.

Even after Murray went to the locker room after getting poked in the eye, the Nuggets continued to expand their lead, moving ahead 84-71 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Porter and Peyton Watson.

Denver scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to move ahead 99-78, and the Lakers never got closer than 16 before their starters were lifted.

The Nuggets shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the opening quarter while building a 31-27 lead.

After scoring the last four points of the first quarter, Denver scored the first three of the second to extend the lead to 34-27, but a 3-pointer from D'Angelo Russell with 9:50 left in the first half put Los Angeles back in front 37-36.

James converted a dunk off his steal and then sank a 3-pointer in transition to extend the lead to 46-38.He later hit Dalton Knecht with a length-of-the-floor pass that led to a dunk, and those points gave the Lakers their biggest lead of the game at 63-53 with 1:50 left in the half.

Los Angeles eventually took a 63-57 advantage into the break.

--Field Level Media/Reuters