The Los Angeles Lakers look to run their record to 9-0 tonight, but will face a tough task facing the Nuggets at Pepsi Center in Denver. The Lakers have lost their last three games in Denver, and are 3-7 in their last 10 regular season games in the Mile High City. Then again, the Lakers are also 4-1 in Denver in the postseason over the last three years.
The Lakers are coming off an ugly win against the Timberwolves on Tuesday night, a 99-94 victory that saw the Lakers give up a whopping 26 offensive rebounds to Minnesota. Even in the win, guard Derek Fisher wasn't satisfied, per ESPN:
"The way we played tonight was irresponsible and it was reckless and it was disrespectful," Fisher said. "I can't get any clearer than that. There was an air of complacency, of arrogance, of 'we don't have to play as hard as the other team to win' that I didn't like tonight."
If Fisher was mad about a win, just think how angry he would be if he were on the Nuggets, who got blitzed by the Indiana Pacers, 144-113. The Nuggets gave up 54 points in the third quarter, the fourth-most points ever scored on one quarter in NBA history. The Pacers made their first 20 shots of the third quarter, only denied a perfect shooting period by a last-second miss by Josh McRoberts.
The Lakers have only played two of their first eight games on the road this season, winning 114-106 in Phoenix on October 29, and beating the Kings 112-100 on November 3. The Lakers do have a three-game road trip next week.
The Lakers have only been 9-0 one time in franchise history. They began the 1997-1998 season with 11 straight wins. Tonight's game will be televised exclusively by TNT. Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, and Steve Kerr will broadcast the game.
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