On opening night of the 2023–24 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the Denver Nuggets, who had just won the Western Conference Finals.

Losing against the Nuggets by a score of 119-107 wasn’t the start the Lakers had hoped for.

Both teams got off to a fast start, making their first few attempts from behind the arc, but it was back-to-back 3-pointers from Taurean Prince that put the Lakers up 10-7 early on. The Nuggets were up 20-16 at the half thanks to their efficient offense, despite a couple of downhill layups by LeBron James.

In the first few minutes, Denver’s lead ballooned to double digits thanks in large part to Nikola Jokic’s dominance in the paint, where he scored on two offensive rebounds and several other close-range attempts. D’Angelo Russell had a fantastic steal and layup sequence, but Los Angeles still fell behind 34-20 heading into halftime.

The second quarter opened with more 3-pointers from the Nuggets, but James was able to stem the tide with another hard drive. Los Angeles was still behind 47-34 after another Jokic basket, despite the fact that Denver had begun to cool off from the field as Anthony Davis got going.

In an effort to force Jokic into foul trouble, the Lakers sought to match up Davis against him in a one-on-one situation. Davis and James took charge of the offense down the stretch of the first half, helping their side to a manageable 63-54 deficit at the break.

L.A. closed to within five points after a steal and dunk by Austin Reaves to start the third quarter and a layup by Taurean Prince off a James outlet pass. The Lakers battled back after the Nuggets extended their lead to double digits, and they stayed within striking distance the rest of the game.

The purple and gold, however, slowed down on defense and offense, allowing Denver to regain the initiative. Nonetheless, James led a 9-0 surge that cut the deficit to 87-80 at the end of the third quarter.

James was more aggressive as he scored on a great pass from Gabe Vincent and knocked down a three-pointer to get the Cavaliers to within three. After James was taken out of the game, the Nuggets went on a 7-0 run to close the gap to 101-90.

Mike Malone would call a timeout to calm the team down whenever Los Angeles gained momentum, and Denver would counter with a little scoring spree to keep the Lakers at bay. With time running down, the Lakers made one last push, but it wasn’t enough to avoid their first loss of the season.