The Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 129-118 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, avoiding consecutive losses and claiming the fifth spot in the Western Conference with a half-game lead over the Utah Jazz.

Nikola Jokic shot 15-for-22 from the field for 38 points, 18 rebounds and six assists while delivering three steals and two blocks as well. Such a dominant and complete performance will definitely bode well for him in the close MVP race with Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Another five Nuggets also reached double-digit points, led by the 25 of Will Barton. He drained six triples, the most on the floor, for the Nuggets, and five of them happened in the second half. Aaron Gordon contributed 24 points, including 11 in the second quarter. The two made sure with their efforts that Jokic still had enough stamina left to take over the offense late in the game.

"Very satisfying, knowing the situation, four games to go (when) you've got people right behind you, pushing you," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. "This was an important road win. We've been a great road team all regular season long. ... When it mattered most, we were able to get stops."

"I think it's a really important win for us," Jokic said. " I'm just glad that we're winning. If we're playing bad and we're winning, that's the most important thing. I think it was really collective play that we did together, but hopefully we can keep it up to separate further and be even better."

After this win, the Nuggets are two games behind the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks and two games ahead of the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. With only three games to go, the Nuggets are unlikely to replace the Mavericks in the top 4, but don't need to worry too much about falling into the play-in tournament zone. Their opponents in the first round of the playoffs can be either the Mavericks or the Golden State Warriors.

Though LeBron James sat out Sunday's game because of injury, the Lakers' desire to win at home was obvious. Anthony Davis played over 34 minutes on the floor with a left ankle injury and scored 28 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and three blocks. Russell Westbrook shot an efficient 11-for-15 from the field for 27 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Carmelo Anthony, returning from a non-COVID-19 illness, missed six of his seven attempts from downtown, but still capitalized on the defensive mismatches to score 14 points within the 3-point line.

Unfortunately, the Lakers' efforts couldn't save them from a sixth straight loss or the fading hope of appearing in the play-in tournament. The purple and gold are now 31-47, 11th in the West and two games behind the San Antonio Spurs, who also hold the tiebreaker. That means if the Spurs win two of their remaining four games, the Lakers' season will be over no matter what they do.

"We don't worry about the math," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. "We worry about the next game. Learn the lessons from this game, take them to the next game and hopefully get a win against Phoenix (on Tuesday)."

The Spurs will be playing the Nuggets on the same day. Things will become more clear after the two games are finished.

Mavericks try to secure home advantage for playoffs

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-112 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Sunday, remaining fourth in the West and two games ahead of the Nuggets.

Though the Mavericks reached the playoffs in both of the past two seasons, they always started on the road. Now they have a chance to play first, and probably more games, at home if they can finish the regular season as the No. 4 seed.

Luka Doncic was not in his best shooting form on Sunday as he missed 13-of-22 from the field, including six behind the arc. The good news for the Mavericks and him was that he remained aggressive on offensive to earn 14 free throws and made 11 of them. More importantly, Doncic exploited the Bucks' inefficient defensive tactics, connecting with Dwight Powell for many easy points to destroy the opponents from inside.

The Bucks gave Brook Lopez a bit more than 22 minutes on the court. It's not too long, but since Lopez was the starting center, he was often in the game together with Doncic. The team's traditional defensive choice was to have Lopez stay under the hoop, but he kept dashing out on Sunday, switching to cover Doncic. Doncic may not be fast enough to beat him directly, but the Slovenian genius is a passing master and always able to find Powell, who cut into the void left by Lopez.

As a player who had averaged only 8.6 points before Sunday, Powell shot 8-for-10, all under the rim, and made all six free throws to score 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks at Fiserv Forum.

"Obviously, when you play against superstars like Giannis today, you always have extra motivation," Doncic said. "He's a champion, a two-time MVP."

"He's one of the most talented players in the league, one of the most talented players probably ever to play this game," Antetokounmpo said of Doncic.

Antetokounmpo didn't have his best game on Sunday with 28 points and 10 rebounds. The Mavericks didn't have anyone who could match the "Greek Freak" in size, power and athleticism, but they have enough smart defenders to cut his connections with teammates. Moreover, the Mavericks always got back on defense fast enough, not allowing even one fast-break point by the Bucks.

The Bucks are 48-30 and third in the Eastern Conference after Sunday's loss. They are 2.5 games behind the leader Miami Heat, 0.5 games behind the Boston Celtics and ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers because of the tiebreaker. The Bucks' opponents in the first round of the playoffs will likely be the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers or Atlanta Hawks.

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

Washington Wizards 102-144 Boston Celtics

Detroit Pistons 121-117 Indiana Pacers

Philadelphia 76ers 112-108 Cleveland Cavaliers

New York Knicks 118-88 Orlando Magic

Miami Heat 114-109 Toronto Raptors

Minnesota Timberwolves 139-132 Houston Rockets

Phoenix Suns 96-117 Oklahoma City Thunder

Portland Trail Blazers 92-113 San Antonio Spurs

Golden State Warriors 109-90 Sacramento Kings

New Orleans Pelicans 100-119 Los Angeles Clippers