LeBron James and The Lakers stop Nuggets winning streak at four

LOS ANGELES – Nuggets coach Mike Malone predicted a competition on the track when his powerful attack collided with LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers, and that's exactly what he got.

The Lakers, behind a late blitz in the fourth quarter, defeated the Nuggets 121-114 to end Denver's four-game winning streak.

With Kobe Bryant sitting on the edge of the field and a plethora of celebrities scattering the crowd, James and his young core invaded the Nuggets in the fourth quarter. James, whose transition lay-out with less than a minute of play put the game out of reach, was giving the Lakers a triple-double of 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. 24 points and 11 rebounds but only three passes while the Nuggets had to look elsewhere for distributors. Jamal Murray finished with 22 out of 17 shots and alternate guard Monte Morris had a career-high 20 points in 27 minutes.

The Nuggets and Lakers traded buckets in the wake of a thrilling tilt early in the season. As soon as Morris buried a pointer to give the Nuggets a 106-98 lead, Lance Stephenson made his way to three consecutive points and a treadmill to reduce the gap to 108-106.

Moments later, James's thunderbolt gave the Lakers a 110-108 lead.

"LeBron does what he always does," Malone said. "And LeBron restores confidence to all these guys. You see Kyle Kuzma and LeBron, their chemistry is growing. Josh Hart and LeBron, their chemistry is growing. "

The Lakers threatened to escape in the third quarter with many losses and transition pails, creating an 81-75 lead with just over four minutes to play in the frame. But aboard Jokic, who had 11 points in the third quarter only, the Nuggets took the advantage to take a 89-87 lead before the fourth.

After a sloppy first quarter with a reduced attacking pace, both teams settled for the second. James chases the passes around the perimeter, absorbing his usual attention and speaking from the outside to his Laker teammates. He had eight assists and 14 points in the first half only as many Nuggets tried to contain him. He and Kuzma were the main options to take a 58-57 lead at half-time, despite multiple attempts of the second time and Nuggets defense quality fights.