The Los Angeles Lakers must be filled with regret about not holding onto one of the league's most valuable bench players.

It is also one of the few blemishes on the career of LeBron James, who is at worst one of the two best players in NBA history. He was downright bad in that series, outplayed and outsmarted by JJ Barea,

At halftime, the Thunder led 60-46, propelled by Jalen Williams' 17 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 12. Despite the deficit, the Nuggets showed first half fight, with Nikola Jokic contributing 17 points and Aaron Gordon adding eight points and eight rebounds before the break.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder fans cheer for Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) after he forced a Denve Nuggets turnover in the first