Lakers beat Nuggets, match win total from last season

It wasn't until the last game of Kobe Bryant's career- a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016 - that the Los Angeles Lakers earned their 17th and final win of the 2015-16 regular season.

It was the worst campaign the franchise had ever put together, with most of the focus being on Bryant's farewell tour and not the young, promising collection of talent the Lakers had assembled.

Fast forward to Jan. 31, 2017, and the purple and gold find themselves with as many victories as they did all of last season with 31 games still remaining on the 2016-17 schedule.

A narrow 120-116 win over the visiting Denver Nuggets Tuesday night at the Staples Center gives the Lakers a 17-34 overall record, and while that still remains one of the worst in the Association, it's a sign the team is moving in a positive direction under new head coach Luke Walton.

Los Angeles had five players score in double figures, led by Nick Young's 23 on 9-of-15 shooting. D'Angelo Russell had the first 10-assist game of his young career, Lou Williams chipped in 21 points off the bench, and Ivica Zubac dropped a career-high 17 points in just 21 minutes of action.

Who said progress was a slow process?