“He’s been playing exceptionally well,” LeBron James said of Jamal Murray’s season. “Shooting the ball at a high level. Scoring at a high level. They’ve been able to stay afloat. They’ve won some big games without Jokic.”

Luka Doncic went for 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists while the Lakers forced the ball out of Jamal Murray’s hands in the second half.

“I can’t get Jonas back and then run him into the ground,” David Adelman said.

“People can say whatever they want,” Adelman said this weekend. “I was there when Josh Allen was not there.”

Reserves will be announced at the start of February as Jamal Murray looks to join Nikola Jokic in Los Angeles.

Other than a brief controversy over substitutions, the Nuggets’ loss to Charlotte on Sunday lacked drama as a four-game winning streak ended.