Bennett Durando is the Denver Nuggets beat writer for The Denver Post. Before moving to Colorado, where he started as The Post's Avalanche beat writer, he covered SEC football, basketball and other sports for five years: first reporting on his alma mater, Missouri, for the St.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic gestures after the team defeats the Denver Nuggets in an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 14, 2026. That’s why the Nuggets’ goal was to guard them with two defenders, not one.
Twice in the span of a week, an NBA MVP candidate broke Denver hearts with a game-winning shot over Spencer Jones, the 23-year-old wing who was“I’ve gotta find a way to force him into the help,” he told The Denver Post, “and get him to either take a worse shot or get help from your secondary defender.” First, it was SGA in OKC, maneuvering to his step-back 3-pointer on the right wing last Monday. Jones was stuck on his left hip, a consequence of his gamble to lunge for a steal on the pass to Gilgeous-Alexander. Denver was planning to double-team from the middle of the floor, but the MVP favorite recognized it and slithered to his right, away from the help. Jones was out of position to steer him back. Then it was Doncic in LA, setting an off-ball screen for Rui Hachimura and getting Jones switched onto him Saturday. The Lakers cleared out the left side of the floor, taking Christian Braun out of the play. Jones was still aided up top by Bruce Brown, the nearest help defender. Behind him, Aaron Gordon was rotating to Austin Reaves to protect against the easiest pass Doncic could make out of a double-team. But Jones faced his body the wrong direction for the slightest moment, giving Doncic leverage to attack the open space to his left. Brown was left chasing the play, unable to trap, as Doncic navigated to a step-back 15-footer on the baseline. It’s the type of shot that can feel automatic off the fingertips of a scoring champion. Jones’ tight contest with the right hand was invisible to the Slovenian star. It might’ve helped that Doncic subtly pushed off the defender’s mid-section to create space. Los Angeles took the lead with 0.5 seconds left. “Spence has to send it back,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after the 127-125 loss. “We talked about it. It’s the bottom line. We switched. It’s not a bad matchup. Spence is a great defender. So it’s not about that. It’s about how good Shai and Luka are. Once we switch, you have to send it back to . That’s where your help is. Because once he gets a step, it’s over, and now he’s foul-baiting, all the things. Once he has the advantage, great players, that’s gonna happen. “Shai’s was very tough. That was all the way near the sideline. This was: Luka got to his spot, and that can’t happen. You’ve just gotta send it back to teammate. That’s what was coached. That’s what was talked about. So we’ll have to keep going through it.” Not that it’s easy to corral players like Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic. In both cases, they were reading the floor, identifying the help and locating where the Nuggets would be most vulnerable. In the context of 1-on-1 defense against a superstar, Jones’ effort was commendable on both plays. It’s just that Denver didn’t want to play 1-on-1 in a league where the best isolation offense often beats the best defense.told The Post. “So it’s a learning process, but it’s tough to guard those guys. They’re the best in the league. They’re the best in the world. So you can kind of contain them and send them, but the offense is the one who is deciding where it’s gonna go.” “Gotta get the ball out of those players’ hands, get somebody else to take those shots,” Jones said. “And we’ll have a better chance of pulling out these games.” The Nuggets also had a foul to give on that final sequence of overtime Saturday, but they didn’t use it. “The problem is once gains an advantage, that foul to give is a shooting foul,” Adelman reasoned. “He has a step on you. You know how he is. He’s gonna shoot the ball. He’s gonna rip through your hands. At that point, I think you’ve already lost, once he gains a step on Spence. So yeah, he made a tough shot. A shot he makes.” Mike Moser’s unique road to Nuggets coaching gig, from family of adoptees to international journeyman How Lakers’ Austin Reaves got his own rebound, stunned Nuggets on wildest play of NBA season: ‘1 in 100’Bam Adebayo, Kobe Bryant and the ethical NBA debate after controversial 83-point game | Journal Grading The Week: Nuggets look like NBA Finals contender when Cam Johnson, Christian Braun find a groove The dramatic finish in Los Angeles capped a roller coaster week for Jones. He was the catalyst of a 13-point fourth-quarter comeback last Thursday in San Antonio, scoring 19 points and slotting in as Adelman’s ad-lib backup center during a key run. Before opening tip against the Lakers, Adelman said he has “full trust in Spencer” as a potential playoff option. The Stanford grad wasn’t eligible to suit up in playoff games until his two-way contract was converted to a standard deal. “He’s earned it,” Adelman said. “We went to him as a starter during the season. We’ve won games with him playing high-30s minutes. The other night in San Antonio, we went there just because we had tried everything else. I don’t know how many lineups I tried the other night to try to find a run in that game. And that was the lineup. He was our five. He picked and popped and made a couple 3s, and I think that just opened up the whole game for us. And obviously, defensively, what he brings to us, the versatility. … He just brings something different to our team. If I can put a lineup out there with Peyton , Aaron, Spencer, that’s really good perimeter defense.” Watson will likely be back from a hamstring injury in the next week to make that lineup possible. In the meantime, Jones was stranded on an island of his own making Saturday, exasperated by another difficult game-winning shot that his wingspan was somehow helpless to affect on its own.Jamal Murray’s right shoulder was bothering him during a 1-for-14 outing Saturday. Denver’s All-Star point guard fouled out early in overtime after scoring only five laborious points. “There was discomfort in his arm for sure,” Adelman said. “We talked at halftime where he was at mentally with it, and he was wanting to play. Some of the looks he had tonight are shots he makes in his sleep.”“I can’t remember a night like this from him,” Adelman said. “So this is not a normal thing, as everybody knows. So he’ll bounce back. He’ll get two days here to get his body right. We’ll go from there.”Colorado weather: Up to 8 inches of snow expected in mountainsArchitect lists custom-built Mediterranean-style villa in historic Denver neighborhood on 7th Ave. My son was hit by a snowboarder at Winter Park. Why has no one come forward with information? Denver to open cold weather shelters Sunday as temperatures set to dropRegis Jesuit boys basketball coach Ken Shaw is out following 19-year tenure
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Nuggets Reveal Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray Injury News for Lakers GameSome big injury news regarding two of the Denver Nuggets' top contributors.
Read more »
Denver businesses host watch parties for Denver Summit FC’s first gameRichard Butler joined the Denver7 news team in July of 2021. After almost three years as a news photographer, he moved into the role of specialty multimedia journalist.
Read more »
Nuggets vs Lakers Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s NBA GameOur Nuggets vs. Lakers predictions expect Denver to pull away from Los Angeles tonight.
Read more »
Lakers Could End 5-Year Drought With Win Over NuggetsThe stakes are high for the Denver Nuggets against the LA Lakers.
Read more »
Nuggets and Summit both lose on Saturday, but Denver fans keep the faith in their teamsColette Bordelon is a reporter with Denver7.
Read more »
Cam Johnson Says Nuggets Have to Be Better After Loss to LakersThe Denver Nuggets came up short in heartbreaking fashion to the LA Lakers.
Read more »