Los Angeles Lakers fans had seen enough after watching their team fall short again — so much so that things got physical in the stands.
A wild video surfaced online after Friday’s game, showing a full-blown brawl between Lakers and Denver Nuggets fans at Ball Arena. Meanwhile, on the court, things weren’t much better for the Purple and Gold, who came up short in another big game.
Lakers Fans Take Another Loss, This Time in the Stands
While Nuggets fans celebrated another close win over the Lakers, tensions in Ball Arena boiled over between rival fan bases. A postgame video showed a group of Lakers supporters getting into it with Nuggets fans, and it didn’t take long for things to turn into a full-on fight.
The clip, which quickly went viral on social media, showed punches flying as security rushed to break things up.
Leave it to @Lakers fans to come into your arena and start throwing fists after the game. But the @nuggets fan got a quite a shot in at the very beginning. @WorldWideWob pic.twitter.com/o0GGE6lEuA
— Jeremy Harlan (@jerharlanCNN) March 15, 2025
Meanwhile, in his postgame press conference, Lakers head coach JJ Redick shouldered the blame for a costly late-game mistake. After Austin Reaves missed a jumper that could’ve given L.A. the lead, Denver had one final shot to win it. With 5.6 seconds left, Jamal Murray used a monster screen from Nikola Jokić that took out two Lakers defenders before drilling a clutch three-pointer.
JJ took ownership of that Jokic and-1 that tied the game late in the 4th
He also added:
"The last play, no comment on that one" pic.twitter.com/15y4Evxf8L
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) March 15, 2025
“I think the play that Jokić got the and-1, I’ll take some ownership of that,” Redick admitted. But at the same time, he was stunned by Murray’s clutch shot. “The last play, no comment on that one.”
Lakers Struggling To Deliver Without Key Players
The Lakers had plenty of reasons to struggle heading into this game. LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and several key players were out, forcing L.A. to roll with a makeshift lineup. But for a moment, it looked like Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht were about to pull off a miracle.
Reaves went off for a season-high 37 points, carrying the offense in LeBron’s absence. Knecht added 32 of his own, including some clutch buckets down the stretch. The Lakers erased a double-digit deficit and even took a 126-123 lead with 52 seconds left.
But then, things fell apart. Jokić muscled his way to an and-1 to tie the game, Reaves missed a jumper, and then Murray sealed it from deep. Just like that, Denver stole back a win the Lakers were so close to pulling off.
Now, with their losing streak at four games, the Lakers (40-25) are sitting near the edge of the NBA Play-In tournament. They’d love to climb to a more comfortable spot.
To make matters worse, even Lakers fans are taking losses. Some might say they’re not only losing on the court but in the stands too. But if any team can turn things around, it’s the Lakers.