The Good, Bad & Ugly From Nuggets' Demoralizing Loss to Lakers

After what was almost a valiant Denver Nuggets comeback in overtime against the LA Lakers, where they were down by as much as 17 throughout the night, their efforts would come up just short on a last-second Luka Doncic game-winner that would end abruptly those hopes, and make for another Nuggets loss that has simply unraveled due to a lack of late-game execution.

The Nuggets are now 41-27, sit as the sixth seed in the West with 14 games left on their regular season calendar, and have a lot of gelling to do before this roster can truly be considered a championship-level group heading into April, May and June.

But before looking too far ahead for what may lie ahead for the Nuggets, let's break down some of the good, bad, and ugly from their 125-127 overtime loss to the Lakers.

The Good: Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson Held Their Own

Mar 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson (23) reacts in the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The end result was far from what the Nuggets needed entering the night, but Denver can walk away with some positive takeaways regarding the play of Cameron Johnson and Aaron Gordon; both of whom came out for highly impactful outings on their behalf, and were a large reason this group was in a position to win in overtime in the first place.

Gordon had his highest scoring performance since his recent injury return with 27 points with five threes made, paired with five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. Not only being productive, but being able to play a high-intensity 35 minutes is a good sign that he's truly back to 100% health.

FIFTH THREE FOR 3️⃣2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/FgD5oEQXrG
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 15, 2026

As for Johnson, he looked a bit more comfortable on both ends of the floor, posting 18 points shooting 6-13 from the field, making 4-10 from three in a clearly aggressive night offensively. He also paired that with four rebounds, three assists, along with a steal and a block.

If the Nuggets can get both of Gordon and Johnson to play this well in the same night while Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic are healthy and on the floor, they win nine times out of 10. This time, the late-game execution (or lack thereof) is what sticks them with the unfavorable result.

The Bad: The Way It Ended

Mar 14, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) shoots a game winning shot while under pressure from Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones (21) during overtime at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

If you were to think of the most heart-breaking fashion to lose an NBA basketball game, how would that ending go?

If you were to say losing off a last-second shot in overtime to the opposing team's star player with a roaring home crowd behind him, that'd be a pretty good answer. And that script would be exactly how the Nuggets' fate was drawn up in the final seconds in this one, thanks to some Luka Doncic heroics to add onto his 30-point triple-double.

LUKA HITS THE GO-AHEAD JUMPER TO WIN IT FOR THE LAKERS IN OT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/CIkuCBvExv
— NBA (@NBA) March 15, 2026

Any time a team ends up falling on the losing end to the Lakers, the result stings a little bit extra––especially so when Luka's hitting a Kobe-esque mid-range for game to rip the soul out of every Nuggets fan in the process.

The Ugly: Everything Jamal Murray

Mar 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) on the bench in the second half against the Houston Rockets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

A lot of the Nuggets' success this season has been defined by some career-best production from first-time All-Star Jamal Murray, who to this point hasn't had too many lackluster performances on the season that's had so many highs.

This one just wasn't Murray's night.

It was Murray's lowest scoring total in a single game this season that he didn't leave early, logging just five points on a brutal 1-14 shooting from the field, 1-7 from beyond the arc, and fouled out after 36 minutes that forced him out of the overtime action, thus adding further insult to injury in what was a nightmarish game.

The good part is you don't have to expect many more performances like this from Murray for the rest of the season. The only other time he's scored less than figures this year was against the Boston Celtics in February. He left the game after seven minutes with an illness.

The bad part is the Nuggets now finish 1-2 against the Lakers in their season series that could play into some big seeding implications, sit a full game back from homecourt advantage in the first round of the West, and have a lot of ground to make up in the conference standings with less than a month to go in the regular season.