The Denver Nuggets no longer appear to be just a tough rival for the Los Angeles Lakers—they’ve become an almost guaranteed roadblock. When these teams face off, a Lakers defeat seems inevitable.

In the 2023 NBA Western Conference Finals, the Nuggets swept the Lakers 4-0, propelling Denver to the NBA Finals and eventually to the championship. In response, the Lakers retooled their roster, hoping to change their fortunes.

However, those adjustments didn’t yield the desired results. The Nuggets continued their dominance, defeating the Lakers in four consecutive Regular Season games and taking them down 4-1 in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

This string of failures prompted the Lakers to make a major shake-up, including parting ways with long-time coach Darvin Ham and bringing in JJ Redick as the new head coach.

Heading into last weekend’s matchup against the Nuggets, the Lakers appeared to be making strides, addressing past errors and overcoming weaknesses that plagued them over the last two seasons.

The Lakers were well aware of the challenge Denver posed and were eager to bounce back after a tough loss to the Orlando Magic, where four missed free throws in the final minute sealed their fate.