NBA (3/14) | Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Eurovision
Written by: Varun Sharma
Last Update: Sat Mar 14, 2026, 5:24 pm ET
Read Time: 6 minutes
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The Denver Nuggets are in Hollywood tonight to take on the Los Angeles Lakers and we know with all the history between these two, this one's going to be good.
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Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location: Crypto.com Arena; Los Angeles, California
- Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2026
- Tipoff: 8:40 PM EST
Key Players
- Nikola Jokić (DEN): 34.7 MPG | 28.7 PPG | 12.7 RPG | 10.4 APG
- Luka Dončić (LAL): 35.5 MPG | 32.9 PPG | 7.9 RPG | 8.5 APG
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Luka Magic
Since joining the Lakers, Luka Dončić has played 20 games without Lebron James and the Lakers have a 14-6 record in those games. This season it's 11-4 and if you look at the lineup metrics it speaks to more of the same.
The Lakers two best lineups contain Luka sans Lebron, with their top lineup containing both Luka and Austin Reaves. The Lakers net rating with Luka and Austin on the floor, without Lebron jumps to +14.5. Their offensive rating sits at 122.1, but what's more surprising is how low defensive rating is; 107.6.
Even when you look at the numbers without Reaves, with just Luka on the court the team's offensive rating sits at 126.3 with their defensive rating at 117.8 (net: +8.5).
It's tough to say Lebron makes this team better when you look at the numbers and somehow the Lakers still sit third in the Western Conference. It's because of one guy, Luke Dončić.
Luka's averaging 32.9 points per game this year and he's stuffing the stat sheet with 7.9 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game. He's lead the Lakers to a top three seed so far on the year and if they hope to keep it, they'll need a win tonight.
The Joker is not Smiling
It's tough to say the Nuggets have struggled this year when they've still won 41 games so far. But if you've watched this team you know what I'm talking about. The defense hasn't been great but the team's also struggled to stay healthy.
Jokić missed multiple games this year, Aaron Gordon has missed a ton of time and Christian Braun's missed more games than he's played this year. Despite all of that, the Nuggets sit a half game back of third place in the Western Conference and win tonight would pop that right back up there.
The Nuggets also haven't won three in a row since the middle of January. It's now mid March and a win tonight would be huge as the playoffs creep closer. Denver should have a full starting lineup today, both Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are probable to suit up tonight.
Los Angeles has won seven of their last eight games so this won't be easy.
Saturday Night's Best Bets
Luka Dončić o16.5 A/R (-114) | Lucky Rebel
We all know about the bromance between the two biggest European superstars in the NBA, right? Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić have the kind of friendship that warms your heart and every time these two face off it's an absolute battle.
As it stands right now, Luka is 9-10 in his career against Jokić and 1-1 since he's come to Hollywood. Luka's averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game in these 19 games. He's cleared this line in both games since joining the Lakers and 14 of the 19 games overall.
This feels like a classic case of "what you can do, I can do better."
I'm rolling with the Slovenian to flirt with a triple double tonight. Sprinkle the triple double at 5-1 too.
Aaron Gordon o22.5 PRA (-120) | Lucky Rebel
Aaron Gordon's just someone I love to bet on and someone that loves to kill the Lakers. They struggle with his combination of speed and athleticism and it's why he's continues to play well against Los Angeles.
Gordon's played the Lakers 14 times in the regular season, since coming to Denver. He's averaging 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists in these games. Gordon's also shooting 55% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc.
Gordon's been dealing with hamstring issues this year and it's effected both his availability and his minutes. Good news is he played 28 minutes against the Thunder in a close game less than a week ago and he's probably in store for something similar.
Gordon had 23 points and 10 rebounds in that game. He comes out to play in big time matchups so I'm expecting a big game tonight from the Nuggets' forward.
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