Lakers hang on to beat the Denver Nuggets

The Lakers snapped a 3-game skid last night by defeating the Denver Nuggets,

D’Angelo Russell was back in the line-up after missing the team’s last three games with a sprained right knee and strained right calf.

Power forward Julius Randle missed his second consecutive game with pneumonia.

Tarik Black got the start for Randle, who has been cleared for Thursday’s game in Washington against the Wizards.

But it was the Lakers’ guards that took control of this one.

Russell ran the point like I hoped he would, scoring 22 points, with 10 assists and 7 rebounds.

Nick Young scored 23 points and Lou Williams added 21 as the Lakers seemed to play at Russell’s speed for most of the night.

Rookie center Ivica Zubac continued to impress scoring a career-high 17 points for the Lakers.

His pick-and-rolls with Russell in the fourth quarter helped seal the deal in a frantic back-and-fourth period that saw the Nuggets hit their first six 3-point attempts scoring 11 straight.

But the Lakers stayed on course going 14 for 21 in the period giving them the win.

The Nuggets and their explosive offense just couldn’t get it done.

Wilson Chandler led the way for Denver with 26 points off the bench while Kenneth Faried had 14 with 17 rebounds.

The Nuggets played their second game without rising star Nikola Jokic who has a strained hip flexor.

With the loss, the Nuggets end their three-game winning streak with just their third loss in 10 games.

The Lakers have just one home game in the next 25 days.

With the Staples Center occupied with the Grammys this week, the teams heads out on a five- game East Coast trip beginning Thursday against the Wizards.