Nuggets 113, Lakers 96
DENVER -- There will be a Game 7.
Ty Lawson scored a playoff-career-high 32 points, Corey Brewer had 18 points and the Denver Nuggets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 113-96 Thursday night, forcing a decisive game in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
Kobe Bryant overcame a stomach ailment to score a team-high 31, and Andrew Bynum had 11 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who will get a third chance to eliminate the Nuggets on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
It was questionable if Bryant would even play in Game 6. He missed Thursday's morning shootaround and received two bags of intravenous fluids before the game and two more at halftime.
It helped his game, but not the Lakers'.
Denver scored the first 13 points and never trailed. Lawson had 15 points in the first quarter and 19 at half, matching Bryant's output through the first 24 minutes. Denver led 54-45 at half.
The Nuggets ended any thoughts of a comeback by scoring the first nine points of the third quarter. Kenneth Faried, who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, had four of those points, including two free throws after he was fouled hard by Bryant, who was called for a Flagrant 1.
Lawson, who finished 13-for-18 from the field, led the charge in the third, scoring 13 points and hitting a 3-pointer -- his fifth of the game -- to give Denver a 90-65 lead with 1:22 left in the quarter.
Brewer took control to start the fourth, scoring the Nuggets' first 11 points to give them a 28-point lead. Bryant left the game for good with 7:52 left.
Pau Gasol had just three points on 1-for-10 shooting and three rebounds.
Bryant shook off the stomach ailment and scored 19 points in the first half. His dunk and two free throws helped the Lakers trim what was a 15-point Denver lead to 43-38.
Gasol's first points made it 47-43 late in the second before Denver finished the half strong. Arron Afflalo hit a corner jumper and Danilo Gallinari hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle as the Nuggets went on a 7-2 run to take a 54-45 lead at the half.
The Nuggets scorched the Lakers early, hitting five of their first six shots to take a 13-0 lead. The Lakers missed their first eight before Bryant scored with 8:25 left in the first quarter.
Lawson got Denver going with a 3-pointer, Gallinari also hit one, and the Nuggets were rolling. Lawson had 15 points in the first quarter, equaling his average for the series.
Los Angeles settled down to get within eight late in the period on the strength of Bryant's 10 points.
Bryant sat for the first few minutes of the second before coming in and draining a 3-pointer to pull the Lakers to within 35-28 with 8:22 left in the period.
Denver got the lead back to 12 before the Lakers went on an 8-1 run to cut it to five.
NOTES: Denver will be playing its first Game 7 since losing to Utah in the 1994 Western Conference semifinals. ... Nuggets forward Chris Andersen was excused from team-related activities. His home was searched Thursday morning by the Douglas County sheriff's office as part of an investigation by the department's of Internet Crimes Against Children unit. ... Lawson was 2-for-13 from 3-point range in the first five games of the series but was 4-for-4 from there in the first six minutes Thursday. ... Gasol and Bynum combined for five points on 2-for-10 shooting in the first half.
