After trailing by 12 points at halftime, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to turn things around in the second and secure the win versus the Denver Nuggets.
Defense played a big part in changing the flow of the game, as the defending NBA champions conceded 58 points during the first two quarters opposed to just 35 in the second half.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel was asked about what he told his players during the break that made them play differently afterwards. He revealed that he had to remind the players about the New Orleans game when Los Angeles was able to double the scoring over a stretch.
“I was very unhappy with how we were playing and our energy in the first half. We started seeing that a little bit towards the end of our trip. Just not playing with our with the hard motor,” he said.
“I thought some things we were doing defensively were okay. But we were able to ratchet it up. I knew that was in there for us. But we were not playing with any offensive pace. Quite frankly, we just weren’t playing hard enough on that side of the ball. When we put our minds to it, this team can do great things.
“We reminded them that we outscored New Orleans 80-40 over a stretch in that game once we put our mind to it and that’s what we need to do tonight. We were able to double the scoring in the second half with 68-35 second half against the fourth best team in the West currently and a contender in the West quite frankly.”
The win keeps the Lakers in the third place in the Western Conference with a 17-6 record which is identical to that of the Clippers at number two spot.
