Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets
Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at 10:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO | Game ID: 22500617
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 37 34 17 19 107LAL 28 29 29 29 115
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Doncic has a triple-double as the Lakers rally past the short-handed Nuggets, 115-107
DENVER -- — Luka Doncic had 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 115-107 on Tuesday night.
LeBron James , who was not voted an All-Star starter for the first time since his rookie season, scored 19 points for Los Angeles, which played the second half without center Deandre Ayton due to a left eye injury.
Jamal Murray scored 26 of his 28 points in the first half for Denver and added 11 assists, but shot just 1 for 5 in the second half.
With Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II sitting courtside, the short-handed Nuggets led by 16 in the third quarter despite missing four rotation players, including Nikola Jokic , who has missed the last 12 games with a hyperextended left knee.
Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson scored 18 apiece for the Nuggets.
A close game added to the budding rivalry that began in the 2023 Western Conference finals, when Denver swept the Lakers on its way to the NBA title.
It appeared the Nuggets would cruise to another win after jumping out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter and had a strong end to the second quarter.
Murray finished the first half with a 35-second flurry to give Denver a 71-57 lead. He fed Gordon for a lob dunk, assisted on Watson’s 3-pointer with 7.3 seconds left and then drained a 56-foot heave at the horn.
Murray missed both of his shots in the third quarter when Los Angeles outscored the Nuggets 29-17 to close within 88-86.
The Lakers tied it early in the fourth and took their first lead on two free throws by Doncic with 6:42 left during a 16-0 run that turned a two-point deficit into a 108-96 lead.
Up next Lakers: Head back to Los Angeles for a road game at the Clippers on Thursday night.
Nuggets: Begin a three-game road trip at Washington on Thursday night.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
BB B. Brown
JM J. Murray
JP J. Pickett
PW P. Watson
SJ S. Jones
TH T. Hardaway Jr.
ZN Z. Nnaji
LALDA D. Ayton
DT D. Timme
DO Doncic
GV G. Vincent
JH J. Hayes
JL J. LaRavia
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
LJ L. James
MS M. Smart
RH R. Hachimura
DEN/LAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur