Lakers ready for Nuggets rematch as Ham rejects talk of alternative path - ESPN

NEW ORLEANS — The Los Angeles Lakers' prize for beating the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 in the play-in tournament to secure the No. 7 seed is a first-round playoff matchup with the defending champion Denver Nuggets.

L.A. won 12 out of its last 15 games to make it happen, sealing its fate in a rematch against last year's Western Conference finals opponent that swept the Lakers out of the playoffs and that has won eight straight overall against the purple and gold.

A loss Tuesday in New Orleans would have set up a do-or-die game on Friday for the Lakers to host the Sacramento Kings, with the winner earning the No. 8 seed and a first-round series against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. And the loser's season would be over.

Despite the inherent risk in the second scenario, there was talk on various sports media programming in the days leading up to the Pelicans game that playing the second-seeded Nuggets would mean certain elimination, so the Lakers would be better off throwing Tuesday's game in New Orleans. It was a notion that left Lakers coach Darvin Ham apoplectic after his team staved off a late push by the Pelicans to advance.

«There was a report of what?» Ham said to a reporter who referenced the chatter. «Insane asylum sources say?»

While Ham was adamant in his rejection of a planned loss, Lakers star LeBron James was just as effusive in the respect he showed for the Nuggets.

«It's the defending champion,» James said. «They know what it takes. They know how to win. They've been extremely dominant on their home floor over the last few years. They've got an MVP on their team. They've got a closer on their team. They've got high-level players, high-IQ players. And they've got a hell of a coach.

»So, we have to