The Denver Nuggets got their title defense off to a great start on Tuesday by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers at home, with players like Christian Braun excelling on both offense and defense.

Braun, a sophomore, made one of his big plays in the first half, blocking a timely layup by Lakers superstar LeBron James to give the Nuggets a 17-point lead early in the second quarter.

Braun's block on James (video link)

As the Nuggets attempt to defend their title in the upcoming season, Christian Braun is expected to play a bigger role in the rotation. With last year's starters like Bruce Brown and Jeff Green moving on to other teams in the offseason, Denver will rely more heavily on players like Braun to fill the void.

The former Kansas Raven-Hawk seems ready for the challenge, as he had a strong first half in his first game at Denver's Ballpark.

Last season, Christian Braun made 76 appearances, averaging 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds on 49.5 percent shooting (35.4 percent from three-point range) in 16 minutes per game. He proved to be a valuable bench player in the playoffs, with an all-around one-two punch off the bench providing the team with quality playing time.

The Denver Nuggets finished their season opener against the Lakers with a nine-point lead over the Lakers, 63-54. The Nuggets' next game will be against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

Christian Braun was a key player in Denver's championship run last season

Christian Braun was in his first year in the NBA last season, but he proved his worth in the Denver Nuggets' first championship run.

Braun was the 21st overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and his play helped lead the team to a five-game sweep of the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

Most notably in Game 3 of the series, he scored an efficient 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting to help the Nuggets win 109-94 and take a big 2-1 lead.

His steady play was matched by a 30-point triple-double from Denver superstar Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

In five games in the NBA Finals, Braun averaged 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 16 minutes per game.