Nuggets Live: Denver loses at Lakers, down 2-0 in series - Denver Post

Heading into tonight's Game 2 against the Lakers, the Nuggets, and more specifically coach George Karl, are hoping the referees look a little more at what is happening in the low post.

After Lakers center Andrew Bynum had 10 blocks in Game 1 Sunday, Karl said Bynum was "playing nice illegal defense. He was zoned up good. I think we got one illegal defense â€" I saw about 30."

Before Game 2, Lakers coach Mike Brown paused after hearing an account of Karl's comments.

"He's a veteran coach who's been in the playoffs a long time," Brown said. "He's got to try to work the officials in a lot of different ways. He's just trying to work the officials, work the public a little bit, which I applaud him for doing."

The series resumes Friday for Game 3 at the Pepsi Center. Game 4 is Sunday in Denver.

Nuggets make run at Lakers

After trailing by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, the Nuggets cut the Lakers' lead to 75-70 on Corey Brewer's dunk with 1:35 to play but still trailed 81-74 after the third quarter.

Denver outscored the Lakers 22-10 in the last six minutes of the quarter.

The Nuggets came out and scored on their first two possession of the second half and trailed 57-52, but their offense again went south. The Lakers went on a 14-0 run to pull away. Denver was 0-for-5 in the Lakers' run and had three turnovers in the four-minute drought.

Kobe Bryant leads all scores with 33 points (14-of-22), and center Andrew Bynum has 24 points (11-of-17).

Nuggets tie but fade

Denver tied the game then went cold in the second quarter and trailed 55-48 at halftime.

The Nuggets kept it close, pulling within 36-34 with 8.5 minutes left in the first half. They could have taken the lead for the first time in the series, but Al Harrington missed a 3-pointer from the corner with 7:55 to play.

But after a crazy Corey Brewer miss on their next possession, the

Nuggets' Timofey Mozgov had a tip-in to tie the game at 36 with 7:07 left. It was the first tie in the series (other than the 0-0 start, of course). But the Lakers went on a 9-0 run, including seven points by Kobe Bryant. He has 21 points in the first half (9-of-12 shooting). During the Lakers' run the Nuggets missed nine shots.

Denver is 20-of-52 in the first half with 30 rebounds (13 on offense), while the Lakers are 24-of-25 with 23 rebounds.

Lakers up seven after first quarter

In a back-and-forth first quarter, the Lakers looked like they could be on their way to another blowout before the Nuggets reeled them in. The Lakers held a 32-25 at the end of the first quarter.

It was an inauspicious start for the Nuggets as they missed their first six shots while the Lakers were 7-of-9 in that same time to take a 12-3. But after a Denver timeout, the Nuggets went on a 10-2 run to pull within 14-13. The Lakers responded with a 6-0 run.

Kobe Bryant is 6-of-8 in the first quarter and has 14 points. Arron Afflalo leads the Nuggets with five points. Denver is 9-of-23 from the floor.

Denver has yet to hold a lead in the first five quarters of the series.