LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Los Angeles Lakers’ miserable start to the season continued on Wednesday as the winless National Basketball Association giants crashed to a fourth straight defeat against the Denver Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic scored 31 points and hauled down 13 rebounds in a 110-99 win for Denver that left the Lakers rooted to the foot of the Western Conference standings at 0-4.
LeBron James finished with 19 points and Anthony Davis 22 but it was another frustrating night for the Lakers, who reached half-time tied at 54-54 before being outscored 32-17 in a lopsided third quarter in Denver.
The Lakers’ 0-4 start to the season matches their start to the 2015-2016 campaign, when the team would go on to post the worst season in franchise history, finishing with a 17-65 record.
It is only the fourth time in franchise history that the Lakers have started a season with an 0-4 record.
Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo produced his second straight 40-point performance as the Milwaukee Bucks maintained their unbeaten start to the NBA season with a 110-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Antetokounmpo single-handedly hauled Milwaukee back into an absorbing clash at Fiserv Forum, scoring 17 points in a third-quarter rally which turned a 12-point half-time deficit into a two-point lead.
The Greek star added 17 more points in the fourth quarter to finish with 43 in total as the Bucks pulled clear to wrap up the win and improve to 3-0.
Former NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo scored 44 points in his last outing against Houston on Saturday and has averaged 36 points per game this season.
“That was vintage Giannis,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said.
“He’s had a lot of great performances, but that second half he did everything, he was phenomenal.”
“We had a poor second quarter and he came out with a force and a determination to put us in the right place. It’s hard to put into words how good he was in the second half.”
Brooklyn, meanwhile, saw head coach Steve Nash ejected late in the third quarter after an uncharacteristic outburst from the Canadian Hall of Famer.
