Preseason or not, Nuggets take revenge on Lakers

SAN DIEGO ── The Denver Nuggets, led by Ty Lawson and Chris “Birdman” Anderson, got their revenge on the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night in a 119-105 blowout win that closed out the preseason.

Denver, which finished the preseason 4-4, took a different approach than expected. George Karl elected to sit starters Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony, and play his reserves for much of the game. J.R. Smith and Renaldo Balkman saw their last playing time before having to sit out their suspensions: two games for Balkman and seven for Smith.

Karl gave Lawson and Anthony Carter extra minutes Friday night to take one last look at who would claim the most playing time as the primary backup point guard. Lawson was the best player on the court Friday night, recording 29 points, five steals and six assists on 8-12 shooting from the field.

Lawson displayed phenomenal chemistry and leadership against the Lakers. The young point guard made very few mistakes and bolstered his strong case for Karl to put him in the rotation.

The same thing can’t be said for Carter. In 31 minutes, Carter had two points and six assists on 1-3 shooting. He also committed three turnovers to Lawson’s one. Carter’s chemistry again looked suspect, and his decision making wasn’t cutting it for any production.

Lawson wasn’t the only impressive Nuggets player. In 27 minutes, Anderson netted 15 points, nine rebounds and a block, and proved to be Denver’s most productive big. Arron Afflalo added a nice game with 12 points and four assists, and cut his turnovers to only two in 36 minutes.

Turnovers continue to be a problem. The Nuggets committed 21 Friday night and 26 on Thursday night. Smith led the team Friday with seven. Granted, it was Smith’s last game for the next few weeks, but he was all over the place, attempting long threes, fade-aways and hard takes to the rim. He ended the night with 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 41 minutes.

The Nuggets looked very good against the Lakers on Friday. Some players have given Karl a challenge in deciding who will be in the rotation, most notably Lawson. Karl has a few tough decisions to make before Denver opens the regular season Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz at the Pepsi Center.