James Harden had 39 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 126-122 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night in Inglewood, California.

Harden made six 3-pointers in the game and played all 24 minutes of the second half, while Norman Powell thrived in his first game back after missing the last six with a hamstring injury. Powell hit five treys and scored 28 points in 25 minutes of play.

Nikola Jokic scored 28 points, 14 points and 11 assists, securing third place on the all-time triple-doubles list.

It was Jokic’s eighth triple-double of the season and the 138th of his career, tying him with Magic Johnson in the record books. He now trails only his Denver teammate Russell Westbrook (200 triple-doubles) and Oscar Robertson (181).

It was the Clippers’ eighth straight home win, marred slightly by an injury to Amir Coffey, who had 13 points before limping off the court after hurting his knees along with teammate Ivica Zubac about midway through the third quarter had beaten.

Jamal Murray’s three-pointer with a minute to play and Christian Braun’s putback with 19.9 seconds left reduced the Clippers’ lead from seven points to two points, 123-121.

Zubac and Jokic each made one of two free throws on opposite ends before Harden iced the game from the charity stripe and hit two foul shots to complete a 13-for-13 night at the line.

Powell didn’t miss a chance from the start and Kris Dunn was active on defense early as Los Angeles took an 11-2 lead.

Jokic led the Nuggets’ recovery effort after their sluggish start, scoring 15 points in the first quarter, cutting the Clippers’ lead to 32-23 after one frame.

Jordan Miller came off the bench to score eight points in a rush early in the second quarter before Denver responded with an 11-0 run, turning a 43-35 deficit into a 46-43 lead with 5:39 left in the game the first half.

The teams went into the break tied at 59 points.

The Nuggets took an 80-70 lead in the third quarter before Harden and Powell caught fire from distance, each hitting three 3-pointers in the final five minutes of the period to give Los Angeles a 92-90 lead.

–Field level media