Lakers blown out by Nuggets, 137-115

The Denver Nuggets cruised to an easy win at Staples Center on Sunday night, defeating the Lakers, 137-115.

The Lakers scored more than enough points to win an NBA game, but absolutely fell apart defensively. The Nuggets did a lot of damage from three-point range, hitting 12 of 29 (41.4%) from behind the arc while shooting 53.5% from the field.

Denver also dominated the boards, collecting 58 rebounds to the Lakers’ 38.

Reserve guard Nate Robinson led the Nuggets with 21 points, point guard Ty Lawson dished 12 assists and forward Kenneth Faried collected a game-high 13 rebounds.

Center Timofey Mozgov and Lawson both scored 20. Seven Nuggets hit double figures, including forward Wilson Chandler (17), Faried (17), guard Randy Foye (14) and guard Evan Fournier (12).

The Lakers were led by power forward Pau Gasol’s 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Guard Jodie Meeks scored 23 while forward Nick Young contributed 21 off the bench.

Point guard Kendall Marshall set a career high with 17 assists, tied his career high with six rebounds but scored just nine points on three-of-10 shooting.

The Lakers shot 47.2% from the field but just 14.3% (three of 21) from three-point range.

Denver scored 31 points off the Lakers’ 15 turnovers. The Lakers scored only 12 points off 15 miscues from the Nuggets.

Center Robert Sacre scored 15, making all six of his shots from the field.

The Lakers (14-20) will embark on a three-game trip starting Tuesday night in Dallas against the Mavericks (19-15).

The Nuggets (16-17) return home to host the Boston Celtics (13-21) on Tuesday.

Nuggets 93, Lakers 83 (end of third quarter)

The Nuggets took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Lakers, 17-2, over a four minute stretch to climb ahead by as many as 12 points.

Denver stayed hot from three-point range and have made 10 of 24 attempts (41.%). They also converted almost as many free throws as the Lakers despite six fewer attempts. Denver shot 83.3% from the line (15 of 18) compared to the Lakers at 68.0% (17 of 25).

Jodie Meeks leads the Lakers with 19 points, while Pau Gasol has scored 17 and Nick Young has contributed 15 off the bench.

The Nuggets were led by Ty Lawson’s 18 points. Wilson Chandler chipped in 17 while Randy Foye and Timofey Mozgov contributed 14 apiece.

Lakers 61, Nuggets 60 (halftime)

Guard Nate Robinson (nine points) and center Timofey Mozgov (10) gave the Nuggets scoring off the bench, helping catch the Lakers in the second quarter until forward Shawne Williams hit a three-pointer with 6.8 seconds left to give the Lakers a one-point lead at halftime.

The Lakers continued to shoot well from the field (52.3%) but were outrebounded by the Nuggets, 30-23. Denver also hit five three-point shots in 13 attempts (38.5%) while the Lakers hit two of eight (25%).

Power forward Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 15 points. Guard Jodie Meeks had 14 while forward Nick Young contributed 13 off the bench.

Point guard Kendall Marshall dished nine assists in 16 minutes for the Lakers.

Lakers 29, Nuggets 26 (end of first quarter)

The Lakers opened with a strong first quarter against the Nuggets, shooting 53.8% from the field to take a nine-point lead. Denver rallied at the end of the quarter, trimming the deficit to three.

Lakers power forward Pau Gasol led all scorers with 12 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.

Point guard Ty Lawson scored seven for the Nuggets, who shot 45.8% from the field.

Coming off a career-best 20-point, 15-assist performance, Lakers point guard Kendall Marshall scored three points and had five assists in 10 minutes.

Pregame

The Lakers (14-19) can win their second in a row as they host the Denver Nuggets (15-17) on Sunday night.

After finally breaking a six-game losing streak, the Lakers face another team that has seriously slumped.

The Lakers are expected to start point guard Kendall Marshall, guard Jodie Meeks, forward Wesley Johnson, power forward Pau Gasol and center Robert Sacre. They’ll be without guards Kobe Bryant (knee), Steve Nash (back), Steve Blake (elbow) and Jordan Farmar (hamstring) as well as forward Xavier Henry (knee).

Denver will play without forward Danilo Gallinari (knee), center JaVale McGee (tibia) and point guard Andre Miller (excused from team for personal reasons).

For a more in-depth breakdown, check out Preview: Lakers vs. Utah Nuggets.

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Conflicting ‘reports’ on status of Pau Gasol trade to Cavaliers

Pau Gasol is still a Laker as of morning shoot-around

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.