Rui: Lakers Discussed Failures vs. Jokić, Nuggets in Team Meeting Before Blowout Loss

The Los Angeles Lakers are so aware of their struggles against the Denver Nuggets they had a team meeting about it before Saturday's game.

Rui Hachimura revealed as much when he told reporters before the contest (40-second mark), "We just talked about it before practice, in the meeting. These past two years we've been struggling against them. So tonight we have to show what we've been working on. I think our chemistry is way better than before."

The meeting didn't exactly work.

Denver handled the Lakers with relative ease in a 127-102 victory, continuing its dominance over the Purple and Gold. Including the playoffs, the Nuggets have now won 13 of the last 14 meetings.

Those playoff matchups have been the most difficult for the Lakers, as Nikola Jokić and Co. swept them in the 2023 Western Conference Finals and eliminated them in five games in the first round last season.

It seemed like Los Angeles might flip its fortunes with a six-point halftime lead in Saturday's game, but the Nuggets outscored the home team 37-15 in an overwhelming performance in the third quarter.

The result was never in doubt in the fourth.

Jokić just missed a triple-double with 34 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block, while Michael Porter Jr. added 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Nobody from the Lakers scored more than Austin Reaves' 19, as they simply couldn't keep up with the visitors.

They will have another chance to figure things out against Denver on Feb. 22.