Bronny James, Luka, Austin Reaves' Box Score Stats, Highlights from Lakers vs. Nuggets Preseason

The Los Angeles Lakers closed out the preseason on Friday night with a 121-106 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić combined for 34 points and five assists, but they also committed 11 of the Lakers' 14 turnovers. Bronny James was held scoreless for the second time in four preseason contests.

Player	PTS	FGM-FGA (3PT FGM-FGA)	AST	REB	STL-BLK
Luka Dončić	15	4-10 (3-7)	2	4	1-1
Austin Reaves	19	5-11 (1-7)	3	5	1-0
Bronny James	0	0-1 (0-1)	1	1	0-0
Nikola Jokić	17	7-8 (3-4)	8	6	1-0
Jamal Murray	21	8-15 (0-3)	6	3	1-0
DeMar DeRozan	14	6-9 (0-0)	5	1	1-2

Nuggets-Lakers Highlights

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As head coach JJ Redick is building up his normal rotation for the regular season, James' playing time has gone down in the past two games. His 12 minutes on Friday night came after he played just 11 against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

It's not a surprise, then, that James' scoreless outings have been in the last two games.

As for the two central figures for the Lakers, it wasn't the best night for either Dončić or Reaves. Both of them are such strong offensive forces, though, that even an off night produces some highlights.

Dončić scored all 15 of his points in the first half, including a three from the logo and a and-one layup over Nikola Jokić.

Reaves, whose 19 points led the Lakers, wasn't going to be outdone by his friend and teammate. He showed off his dribble and handle that left Trevon Brazile with no chance.

There was an incident in the third quarter when Reaves took an elbow to the face from Cameron Johnson. Officials called Johnson for a foul and review led to him being assessed a Flagrant 2, resulting in an ejection.

Reaves remained in the game and appeared to be fine. He made both of his free-throws and a three on the Lakers' ensuing offensive possession.

The Nuggets had seven players score in double figures, including their entire starting five. Nikola Jokić was nearly perfect from the field with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, along with eight assists and six rebounds.

Jamal Murray led all scorers with 21 points and had six assists with just one turnover in 31 minutes. DeMar DeRozan's 14 points in 27 minutes against the Lakers matched his scoring output from his previous three preseason appearances.

It's hard to get a full read on what this iteration of the Lakers with Dončić, Reaves and Walker Kessler will look like in the regular season simply because we didn't see them together a lot in the preseason.

James' spot on the roster could be worth monitoring, particularly after Redick mentioned earlier in the week that he has struggled in the preseason. Redick did praise his work throughout the offseason and in practices, so it could simply be a matter of getting him more time with the regular rotation players.

We will find out what Redick's plan for the post-LeBron James version of the Lakers is going to be when they tipoff the regular season on Wednesday against the Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.