DENVER -- — LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for career field goals in the Los Angeles Lakers' 120-113 loss to Denver on Thursday night, with the Nuggets getting 28 points each from All-Stars Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.

James injured his left elbow on a layup that pulled Los Angeles to 110-106 with four minutes to go and left the game. He returned with 2:05 left and the Lakers trailing by a point. The Lakers, however, never were able to take the lead as the Nuggets finished off a crucial wire-to-wire win.

James finished with 16 points to go with Luka Doncic's 27.

Jokic had his 23rd triple-double of the season with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists to offset nine turnovers and help the Nuggets (39-24) stay a step ahead of the streaking Lakers (37-25) in the logjammed Western Conference.

Aside from his record-breaking bucket in the first quarter — the 15,838th field goal of his 23-year career — James had a couple of sensational baskets: a corkscrew reverse fastbreak layup and an off-balance, 18-foot turnaround jumper that pulled the Lakers to 64-54 at halftime.

And he had three straight jaw-dropping assists as the Lakers staged a fourth-quarter comeback that fell just short.

The Nuggets jumped out to a 16-3 lead and led by 15 points, but turnovers kept the Lakers within striking distance all night.

Murray's 20 first-half points helped the short-handed and undersized Nuggets stay in control. Forward Aaron Gordon worked out on the court before the game but was again in street clothes by game time. Sidelined since Jan. 23 by a pulled hamstring, Gordon is expected to return to action Friday night against the Knicks.

Denver's other defensive stalwart, guard Peyton Watson, has also been out with a pulled hamstring and the Nuggets were also without forwards Cam Johnson (sprained right ankle) and Spencer Jones (strained right shoulder).

Lakers center Deandre Ayton left in the first half with a knee injury and didn't return.

Doncic picked up his 15th technical foul of the season. He'll face an automatic one-game suspension if he gets another.

Up next

Lakers: Host Indiana on Friday night.

Nuggets: Host New York on Friday night.

------

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Deandre Ayton vs. Nikola Jokic (Jamal Murray gains possession)	0	0
11:41	Austin Reaves shooting foul	0	0
11:41	Jamal Murray makes free throw 1 of 3	1	0
11:41	Jamal Murray makes free throw 2 of 3	2	0
11:41	Jamal Murray makes free throw 3 of 3	3	0
11:26	Luka Doncic misses 26-foot three point jumper	3	0
11:22	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	3	0
11:09	Nikola Jokic makes layup (Jamal Murray assists)	5	0
10:55	Austin Reaves misses 12-foot pullup jump shot	5	0
10:53	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	5	0
10:35	Jamal Murray makes 23-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	8	0
10:20	Deandre Ayton misses driving layup	8	0
10:19	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	8	0
10:15	Christian Braun misses running layup	8	0
10:13	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	8	0
9:59	Luka Doncic out of bounds bad pass turnover	8	0
9:41	Christian Braun misses 26-foot three point jumper	8	0
9:38	Deandre Ayton defensive rebound	8	0
9:22	LeBron James misses 20-foot jumper	8	0
9:20	Christian Braun defensive rebound	8	0
9:05	Jamal Murray makes 25-foot three pointer	11	0
9:04	Lakers Full timeout	11	0
8:52	Jamal Murray shooting foul	11	0
8:52	Luka Doncic misses free throw 1 of 2	11	0
8:52	Lakers offensive team rebound	11	0
8:52	Luka Doncic makes free throw 2 of 2	11	1
8:35	Julian Strawther misses 24-foot three point jumper	11	1
8:33	Deandre Ayton defensive rebound	11	1
8:24	Luka Doncic bad pass turnover (Zeke Nnaji steals)	11	1
8:19	Christian Braun misses running layup	11	1
8:17	LeBron James defensive rebound	11	1
8:10	LeBron James makes 2-foot layup (Austin Reaves assists)	11	3
8:04	Christian Braun makes 2-foot layup (Jamal Murray assists)	13	3
7:43	Marcus Smart misses driving floating jump shot	13	3
7:40	Julian Strawther defensive rebound	13	3
7:30	Julian Strawther makes 5-foot two point shot (Nikola Jokic assists)	15	3
7:30	Deandre Ayton shooting foul	15	3
7:30	Jaxson Hayes enters the game for Deandre Ayton	15	3
7:30	Julian Strawther makes free throw 1 of 1	16	3
7:13	Austin Reaves misses 11-foot pullup jump shot	16	3
7:11	Zeke Nnaji defensive rebound	16	3
7:04	Zeke Nnaji misses running layup	16	3
7:02	LeBron James defensive rebound	16	3
6:50	Jamal Murray shooting foul	16	3
6:50	Jaxson Hayes makes free throw 1 of 2	16	4
6:50	Tim Hardaway Jr. enters the game for Jamal Murray	16	4
6:50	Rui Hachimura enters the game for Marcus Smart	16	4
6:50	Jaxson Hayes makes free throw 2 of 2	16	5
6:40	Nikola Jokic bad pass turnover (Austin Reaves steals)	16	5
6:35	LeBron James makes 1-foot dunk (Luka Doncic assists)	16	7
6:21	Julian Strawther misses driving floating jump shot	16	7
6:18	Nikola Jokic offensive rebound	16	7
6:18	Nikola Jokic makes two point shot	18	7
6:11	Zeke Nnaji personal foul	18	7
6:03	Luka Doncic misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	18	7
6:00	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	18	7
5:58	Nikola Jokic bad pass turnover (Austin Reaves steals)	18	7
5:54	Austin Reaves makes running layup	18	9
5:32	Nikola Jokic makes two point shot (Christian Braun assists)	20	9
5:16	Luka Doncic makes 13-foot pullup jump shot	20	11
4:58	Nikola Jokic lost ball turnover	20	11
4:58	Nikola Jokic loose ball foul	20	11
4:58	Nuggets Full timeout	20	11
4:58	(04:58) [Nuggets] COACH'S CHALLENGE (REPLAY SUPPORTS CALL) [Nuggets] charged with a timeout	20	11
4:58	Luke Kennard enters the game for LeBron James	20	11
4:44	Luka Doncic makes 7-foot driving floating jump shot (Jaxson Hayes assists)	20	13
4:27	Christian Braun makes 23-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	23	13
4:12	Rui Hachimura makes 23-foot three point jumper (Luka Doncic assists)	23	16
4:02	Rui Hachimura personal foul	23	16
4:02	Bruce Brown enters the game for Zeke Nnaji	23	16
4:02	Jake LaRavia enters the game for Austin Reaves	23	16
3:46	Tim Hardaway Jr. makes 23-foot step back jumpshot (Bruce Brown assists)	25	16
3:34	Julian Strawther shooting foul	25	16
3:34	Luka Doncic misses free throw 1 of 2	25	16
3:34	Lakers offensive team rebound	25	16
3:34	Tyus Jones enters the game for Julian Strawther	25	16
3:34	Luka Doncic makes free throw 2 of 2	25	17
3:21	Nikola Jokic misses two point shot	25	17
3:20	Jaxson Hayes defensive rebound	25	17
3:04	Luke Kennard makes 9-foot fade away jump shot (Jaxson Hayes assists)	25	19
2:52	Tim Hardaway Jr. makes 30-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	28	19
2:30	Jaxson Hayes misses layup	28	19
2:28	Bruce Brown defensive rebound	28	19
2:23	Christian Braun misses 23-foot three point jumper	28	19
2:19	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	28	19
2:16	Luka Doncic misses running pullup jump shot	28	19
2:12	Jaxson Hayes offensive rebound	28	19
2:11	Nikola Jokic shooting foul	28	19
2:11	Jaxson Hayes misses free throw 1 of 2	28	19
2:11	Lakers offensive team rebound	28	19
2:11	Jonas Valanciunas enters the game for Nikola Jokic	28	19
2:11	Jaxson Hayes makes free throw 2 of 2	28	20
1:52	Tim Hardaway Jr. makes 16-foot fade away jump shot (Christian Braun assists)	30	20
1:38	Jake LaRavia misses 23-foot three point pullup jump shot	30	20
1:36	Christian Braun defensive rebound	30	20
1:24	Tyus Jones out of bounds bad pass turnover	30	20
1:24	Jarred Vanderbilt enters the game for Jaxson Hayes	30	20
1:24	LeBron James enters the game for Luka Doncic	30	20
1:13	Luke Kennard traveling turnover	30	20
1:00	Tim Hardaway Jr. misses 29-foot three point jumper	30	20
57.7	LeBron James defensive rebound	30	20
48.2	Jake LaRavia misses 23-foot three point jumper	30	20
44.9	Christian Braun defensive rebound	30	20
32.5	Jarred Vanderbilt shooting foul	30	20
32.5	Jonas Valanciunas makes free throw 1 of 2	31	20
32.5	Zeke Nnaji enters the game for Christian Braun	31	20
32.5	Jonas Valanciunas makes free throw 2 of 2	32	20
12.3	LeBron James makes 12-foot two point shot	32	22
2.8	LeBron James blocks Tyus Jones 's 6-foot driving layup	32	22
2.8	Bruce Brown offensive rebound	32	22
0.2	Bruce Brown misses two point shot	32	22
0.1	Nuggets offensive team rebound	32	22
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	32	22

Related Tags

Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets Live StreamWatch Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets FreeLakers vs Nuggets Live ScoreLAL vs DEN GameNBA Stream Los Angeles LakersNBA Stream Denver NuggetsBall ArenaNBA Live StreamBasketball Streams

Explore More

Los Angeles Lakers Standings Denver Nuggets Standings Los Angeles Lakers Stats Denver Nuggets Stats NBA Standings NBA Schedule

Article Sections

Check all game sections

Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Ball Arena

Denver, CO

Date & Time

3:00 AM, March 6, 2026

Coverage

Prime Video, Spectrum Sports Net, Spectrum Sports Net +

Attendance

19,947

Referees

Ed Malloy, Dedric Taylor, Justin Van Duyne

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	38	25	.603	W1
Phoenix	36	27	.571	W1
Golden State	32	30	.516	W1
LA Clippers	30	32	.484	L1
Sacramento	14	50	.219	L3

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	49	15	.766	W4
Minnesota	40	23	.635	W5
Denver	39	25	.609	L1
Portland	30	34	.469	L1
Utah	19	44	.302	W1

Need Help?

Explore our comprehensive NBA streams guide for all available options and platform comparisons.

View Streaming Guide

Nuggets

Lakers

LeBron James breaks the NBA career field goals record in the Lakers' 120-113 loss to the Nuggets

Game Analysis

Regular Season Series

Game Analysis

Game Stats

Game Article

Game Recap

Up next

Play by Play

Play By Play

Related Tags

Explore More