Nuggets cruise in LA as DarkHorse nails the preseason under

The Nuggets rolled into Crypto.com Arena and handled business, 121-106, while DarkHorse's under 232.5 cashed with room to spare. The 227 combined points validated everything we told you: preseason basketball is a different animal, and this total was begging to be attacked.

Denver controlled tempo from the opening tip, building a comfortable lead while both coaching staffs cycled through their depth charts like it was a scrimmage at the practice facility. The Lakers looked disjointed without their usual offensive rhythm—exactly what happens when you're missing key pieces and playing glorified tryout minutes. LA's bench couldn't generate anything resembling efficient offense, and Denver had no interest in running up the score in a meaningless October contest.

The game stayed comfortably under the number because neither team pushed pace in garbage time, and the final 15 minutes featured more G-League hopefuls than rotation players. Preseason totals are consistently overinflated by books assuming casual bettors will smash the over on name recognition alone. We saw through the smoke, recognized the limited minutes and camp-body rotations for what they were, and banked another winner. When the market prices in regular-season intensity that simply won't exist, you take the under and sleep easy. Next.