Denver struggled against a depleted Lakers team, and coach Michael Malone has to walk a fine line between urgency and rest.

Hometown kid Dalton Knecht helped out the Lakers with 32 points in a starting role. The Nuggets couldn’t defend, but they found enough buckets in the end.

Jamal Murray sank a 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds left and Russell Westbrook stole the inbounds pass for a exclamation-point dunk as the Denver Nuggets rebuffed the scrappy, short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 131-126 Friday night.

The Lakers have now fallen to fifth in the Western Conference standings after losing to the Nuggets. Yet, the loss wasn't all bad for them. This game allowed Bronny James to get some real playing time. He played 16 minutes in this game, which is the most playing time he has seen in Los Angeles.

Many expected the Lakers to get blown off the court but Los Angeles actually made it a game. The final score came in at 131-126, with Denver just inching out a win at home. While the Lakers did lose,

SportsLine's model simulated the Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers 10,000 times and revealed its NBA picks for Friday

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

The Los Angeles Lakers (40-24) and Denver Nuggets (42-24) are all set to square off from Ball Arena in Denver. The Lakers had a challenging game last night against the Milwaukee Bucks. They were down big for much of the game and couldn’t generate offense outside of Luca Doncic.

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the 4th seed following a third straight loss without LeBron James. Nick Wright and Kevin Wildes ask if the blowout is cause for concern for the Lakers.

However, a series of injuries to key players has them shorthanded as they face the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Headlined by both LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the sidelines, the Nuggets will have the upper hand against a shorthanded Lakers team as they make a push to surpass the Memphis Grizzlies in the standings.