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Lakers vs. Nuggets: Lakers run over by Nuggets

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It was the first time during the regular season that the Lakers and Denver Nuggets have met since they faced each other in the Western Conference finals.

The Lakers won the best-of-seven series in six games and went on to win the NBA championship.

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Friday night at the Pepsi Center, the Nuggets got a measure of revenge, running over the Lakers, 105-79

The Lakers seemed to lose all their energy in the third quarter, falling behind by 23 points.

They turned the ball over seven times in the third.

Kobe Bryant scored 19 points in the first half, but none in the third. He didn’t play in the fourth.

Ron Artest had a big first half for the Lakers, scoring 11 points and handing out six assists. But he picked up three fouls in the third and wound up with five, taking a seat on the bench early in the third, never returning.

Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half.

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It looked as if the back-to-back game and playing in the high altitude took a toll on the Lakers.

And it happened very quickly, a two-point, half-time Lakers deficit turning into a bigger margin.

The Nuggets hit the Lakers with a 10-0 run to open the third, which helped Denver build a 23-point lead en route to a 87-64 lead at the end of the quarter.

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Nothing seemed to go right for the Lakers.

They were outscored 29-8 in the third. Kobe Bryant didn’t score in the third.

The Lakers were unable to get to any of the loose basketball.

They committed fouls in the process.

It was not a good third quarter for Ron Artest.

He picked up three fouls in the third, givng him five for the game.

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson finally had no choice but to take Artest with 7:17 left in the third.

That meant that Luke Walton, who didn’t play in the first half, had to come in.

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The showdown between Ron Artest and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony didn’t fully develop.

Anthony picked up three fouls, two in the first quarter, and found himself on the bench.

As for Artest, he played big in helping the Lakers stay within 58-54 of the Nuggets at halftime Friday night at the Pepsi Center.

Artest had 11 points and six assists in 20 minutes. Anthony played just 12 minutes in the first half and scored just seven points.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 19 points in the first half and Andrew Bynum had 10 points and eight reboounds.

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Kobe Bryant had 10 points in the first quarter as the Lakers took a 28-26 lead over Denver on Friday at the Pepsi Center.

Andrew Bynum had eight points for the Lakers.

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The Lakers and Nuggets met in the Western Conference finals last season, with Los Angeles winning in six games.

When the teams met twice in the exhibition season, there were several incidents that made one think that the Lakers and Nuggets might develop a rivalry.

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Lakers Coach Phil Jackson doesn’t see it that way.

‘I think there’s no doubt that we consider them the team that is among maybe three or four teams in this Western Conference [likely] to be standing when the playoffs start,’ Jackson said.

Lamar Odom and Denver’s Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin got into a shoving match in the second exhibition game in San Diego.

Nuggets All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony said it’s too early to call Lakers-Nuggets a rivalry.

‘To say it’s a rivalry, I wouldn’t call it that -- not just yet,’ Anthony said.

-- Broderick Turner

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