Denver Nuggets defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 120-98 from Ball Arena
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Denver Nuggets defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 120-98 from Ball Arena

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

The Denver Nuggets looked a little lost in the second quarter and only had 48 points in the first half, but they stormed to 72 in the second half and defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 120-98. Norman Powell and Kevin Porter Jr. led the Clippers with 16 points each, while Harden added 15 but committed 9 turnovers as Denver’s defense was particularly stout for most of the second half. The Nuggets had a very restrained game from Nikola Jokic, who was the target of every member of the Clippers every time he came into the game and finished the game with 16 points and 7 assists in just 29 minutes as he was due to Denver the whole Had to miss 4th quarter big lead. Jamal Murray led Denver with 20 points and looked strengthened after missing several games with a hamstring injury, while Michael Porter Jr. turned things around with double-digit scores in the third quarter. It was a team effort from both sides tonight and that performance led to an easy win down the home stretch.

Game flow

The Clippers won the tip, but Jokic got a steal in the paint. Kris Dunn made his first basket while MPJ missed his first two attempts, then Harden struck from deep. Jokic and MPJ failed to communicate on a lob, but Jamal Murray sank a pull-up three-pointer and then Denver forced a turnover and Aaron Gordon shot the rim for a bucket and a 6-5 Denver lead after his free throw. Murray was active early, but Denver had three turnovers before Jokic scored his first basket after an assist from Murray. Jokic drove again the next time for a layup that was answered by Zubac at the other end. AG was fouled under the basket by Norman Powell and made both free throws, then was thrown for another basket by Harden the next time. James Harden fell to the ground on one side and didn’t get the call, and in transition Murray hit another three-pointer a few feet behind the line to make the early score 17-10 Nuggets.

Powell missed another three-point attempt, Jokic turned it over and Dunn hit a layup over Nikola. MPJ missed a 3 right away, but completed a transition dunk from AG the next time. Dunn hit a three-pointer, Harden hit a layup to make it four, but Jokic scored on the other side. MPJ made two free throws and Bones Hyland missed an up-up that allowed Watson to score in transition for Denver. Mo Bamba completed a dunk the next time around, Peyton Watson hit a tough jumper and fell for Denver, but Kevin Porter Jr. hit a lucky three-pointer to limit Denver’s lead to 29-22 after a score.

The second quarter began with free throws from Peyton Watson and a missed three-pointer from Julian Strawther, but Strawther grabbed a defensive rebound and drilled it the length of the court the next time. Jamal Murray hit a midfielder when Hyland died on a screen, bringing Denver’s lead back to double digits, and Russell Westbrook missed a tackle on Deandre Jordan, but they scored on the next possession. The Nuggets still struggled with turnovers, however, as Murray had some careless turnovers in the second quarter. Another turnover by Russ, fourth in five possessions, left Denver ahead 36-26. Murray had a great attack on Harden, but didn’t get a whistle the other way. Westbrook missed a layup but Jordan pushed it in, but then Russ made a steal – Denver’s 11th turnover in 18 minutes – and James Harden hit a 3. Jokic came right back as the Clippers hit another 3, and then a jumper Los Angeles cut it to 38-36 Denver. The Nuggets only had a handful of assists and couldn’t get into the game from the field, giving up the lead to the Clippers after a 13-0 run, with Denver mostly doing nothing unless they took the lead. The Nuggets scored 10 points in 10 minutes before Christian Braun finally scored his first basket in transition and then picked off Jokic’s first assist. Nikola Jokic sank a three-pointer and Braun dunked hard in transition in the final seconds, and even though the ball was turned over 14 times in the half, the Nuggets maintained the lead at halftime, 48-47.

Denver had back-to-back turnovers early in the third quarter before Jamal hit a long jumper, then turned it over again to give the Clippers a three-pointer. Braun missed another three-pointer while Batum made one for the Clippers, while the Nuggets moved on to play Jokic on the perimeter, where he neither shot nor passed, but rather worked to open up his teammates with screens and positioning. After a timeout, Jamal hit a reverse layup, then AG sank a 3-pointer to make it 55-5. Jamal hit free throws after another three-pointer from the Clippers and then repelled an attempt from Harden that turned into a Braun transition bucket as Denver’s defense picked up steam. MPJ parried a sidestep three-pointer, Murray and Gordon both missed their shots, and MPJ returned to the free throw line to extend Denver’s lead to 66-60, just before he nullified a subsequent dunk on a Jokic miss. He then helped turn Harden around and hit a nice three-pointer to make it 71-60. Denver forced a few turnovers and MPJ got the ball to Jokic for the score. Jokic missed a layup and missed a three-pointer, but Denver allowed several Clippers drives to cut Denver’s lead back to 10. Strawther had a wonderful quick break pass to MPJ for the finish in the final seconds, and Denver was firing on all cylinders to make it 83-69.

Murray hit a free throw line jumper early in the fourth, Julian Strawther made a nice floater and then got to the line with hard play near the rim. Westrbrook forced another turnover but couldn’t convert it, and Bones Hyland hit a three-pointer. Watson made a corner 3, Russ finished off a lucky layup and Murray answered a Clippers dunk with a paint finish around Hyland. Then Jamal got rid of Bones and set up a monster dunk from Strawther for a fantastic finish for a 100-78 lead. Denver’s defense held the Clippers down, with Watson scoring again in transition. Russell Westbrook grabbed another steal and sank the fast break to cement Denver’s loss as more substitutes arrived at 106-84. Watson grabbed another steal and finish, Jalen Pickett and Zeke Nnaji helped with bench points and Denver held the Clippers under 100 and won 120-98.

Final thoughts

– Denver had a mistake in the second period but proved they could overcome it. Giving up an 18-1 run in the second would normally give them problems this year, but the Nuggets got the game back on track and took the lead back at halftime, and then even a slow start to the second couldn’t stop them stop more. Once they got going in the second round, they never looked back, pushing the Clippers on defense and taking advantage of Los Angeles in transition at every opportunity. MPJ was strong on both ends in the third period, providing much-needed scoring presence as well as rebounds and some nice transition work. Jamal Murray also worked hard on both sides, with the turnovers alone depressing his box score, and Jokic took much of the evening off in terms of his workload. He checked and fed the players, but the Clippers wanted to show that they would stop Jokic at all costs to win – and with this plan they lost badly.

– It wasn’t perfect, but that’s what made it so beautiful in the end. The first half was shockingly disjointed, with disgusting turnovers everywhere. Denver had 22 on the night but managed to force 21 of their own, and aside from that strange stretch in the second quarter, they never stopped playing hard. That usually shows up in rebounding, and the Nuggets destroyed LA 56-39 on the boards. Denver ran hard in transition, and although the assist numbers were ugly early on, the Nuggets finished with 23, showing they would take personal responsibility for the tough play they lacked in last week’s meager losses. Denver won the first quarter, still led at halftime, finished the third quarter up by double digits and then won the fourth. The bench had 40 of Denver’s 120 points – which hasn’t happened much this year. If the effort was lacking, then tonight showed that the Nuggets don’t have to play the prettiest game to win. They can win by getting dirty, scrapping and keeping the pressure on. Denver found that switch in the second half when they needed it — but they found it because they continued to look for it, undeterred. More of this type of ride for the rest of the season please.

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