The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets met for a matchup in LA Thursday night. After dropping an upset to the lowly Orlando Magic Tuesday, the Clippers set their sights on redemption. Denver, however, looked to keep the ball rolling and push a 3-game win streak to 4 straight games.
Controlling the pace
Will Barton scored the first 5 points of the game to give Denver an early advantage. They pushed their lead to 17-9 before the Clippers called a timeout to talk it over. Control remained in Denver’s hands once play resumed, as they built a double-digit lead led by Barton and Michael Porter, Jr. After leading by as many as 13 in the first, Denver went to the quarter break with a 31-20 lead.
The Clippers’ struggles continued in the second, with Denver pushing their cushion up to 16 points. Porter, Jr., dropped 14 points in the first half, while Barton added 13 and newly acquired Aaron Gordon had 10. All-star forward Kawhi Leonard drained a three-pointer toward the end of the quarter to make it a 62-49 Denver lead at the half.
A close grind
The teams traded buckets with each other through the first few minutes of the third quarter. Leonard picked up where he left off, letting it be known that his team would not fold. After a 14 to 5 run led by The Klaw, the Clippers found themselves down by just 7 points.
LA pushed this energy into the fourth period. After Denver regained comfort in their lead, they hit a slump in which they only scored 3 points in a 7:45 stretch. The Clippers went on another run during this period capped by a pair of buckets from Terance Mann. These brought them to within just a point of Denver, but they weren’t able to finish the job. For every bucket the Clippers scored down the stretch, it seemed like Denver had an answer.
The Nuggets (30-18) went on to beat the Clippers (32-18), 101-94, to grab their fourth win in-a-row.
This Denver win came largely due to the output of their starters, who all scored in double figures in a balanced effort. Jamal Murray quietly led the way with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Barton finished the game with 19 points, and Porter, Jr., with 20. Gordon and big man Nikola Jokic each dropped 14, with Gordon adding 6 boards and 6 assists and Jokic tallying 7 of each.
“We set the tone and were able to sustain that,” Murray said. “We were in control, and especially on the road that’s a big deal.”
Leonard finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Mann contributed 18 and 6 off the bench. Despite an inefficient shooting night, Paul George added 17 points and 8 boards of his own.
The Nuggets square off next against the Orlando Magic Sunday at 7:00 p.m. PST.
