LOS ANGELES — Nuggets point guard doesn’t quite invite contact, but he certainly doesn’t run from it.
Murray got knocked down in the first quarter of Sunday’s rousing win over the LeBron-less Lakers and started to stand before he heard a familiar, baritone voice.
“Stay down, stay down,” veteran boomed from several feet away.
Millsap hustled over to Murray and helped him to his feet, an apt metaphor for how the Nuggets bounced back from a bruising first half to thrash the Lakers 128-104 at Staples Center on Sunday night.
LeBron or not, the win was their sixth in a row and improved their overall record to 20-8. It’s the best start through 28 games in the franchise’s NBA history.
“I mean, itap six in a row, so I think (itap big),” said , who chipped in 19 points, five assists and four steals.
Though Millsap ultimately didn’t help much on the glass, his 21 points jumped their offense on a night when (18 points, eight shots) and Jamal Murray (six points) weren’t nearly as impactful as usual. Heading into Sunday night, there wasn’t even a certainty that Millsap would be available after colliding with Murray in the final minute of Friday’s win over Minnesota.
“It was all how the knee looked,” Millsap said. “The swelling went down after that collision with Jamal the other day. It swelled up on me, but we were able to get the swelling down a lot, still a little bit in there, but itap not going to stop me from getting out there.”
Millsap knew all day Sunday he was going to have to battle with Lakers center Anthony Davis (32 points on 13-of-23 from the field). With James out due to a rib injury, Millsap said he anticipated the “hundred touches” the Lakers would send Davis’ way. But despite the few inches he gave up to Davis, Millsap more than made up for it with his tireless effort.
“Felt like he was attacking me all game, so I just wanted to be aggressive and make him work a little bit,” Millsap said with a veteran’s laugh. “He’s such a good player, itap hard to stop him.”
Added Malone: “Paul’s been around the block, he knows what time it is, how to guard guys like that and I thought he took that challenge head-on as well as Mason (Plumlee), Jerami (Grant) and all the other guys.”
Millsap and Harris were Denver’s two high scorers in the second half, combining for 27 points as the momentum swung heavily in their direction. In particular, Millsap drained two 3-pointers during a pivotal third-quarter run that helped buffer their lead.
“‘Sap is huge, he does a lot of stuff, some things that people don’t even notice,” Harris said. “He’s a catalyst to this team, he’s great for us. … When he’s on the court, people just feel way more comfortable.”
