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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Robert Marvi

Lakers player grades: L.A. falls to Denver Nuggets

Another day, another Lakers loss. It’s been like the hit early 1990s movie “Groundhog Day” for the Purple and Gold, and the curtain has almost come down on the team’s season.

For about three quarters, the Lakers were competitive with the playoff-bound Nuggets, giving their fans hope that they could get a win. But as has been the case all season, any stretch of solid play from this team has supplied nothing but false hope.

LeBron James sat this one out due to his sprained ankle. Although Anthony Davis’ sprained foot was still hurting and hampered him, he sucked it up and had another very strong game, often looking like his vintage self on the offensive end, and sometimes on defense as well.

But L.A. fell apart in the fourth quarter, as its soft defense allowed 34 points, and it suffered its sixth straight loss, 129-118.

Now the Lakers are 1.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

At this point, it will take a mini-miracle for L.A. to simply get into the tournament.

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