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The Denver Nuggets went to downtown Los Angeles to battle the LA Clippers on Thursday. Denver, which holds a 2-1 series lead, could claim the overall head-to-head showdown with another victory. They will have to accomplish the feat without the injured Jamal Murray.
The Clippers, sans Kawhi Leonard, opened the game with little energy and executed poorly. On a few occasions, the home crowd whistled at them after the Nuggets raced to a 31-20 first-quarter advantage.
The LA Clippers reversed the complex of the game with an impressive display on both ends in the second quarter. Paul George, Norman Powell and James Harden dragged the hosts out of their slumber with a 33-18 second-period drubbing. Los Angeles entered the halftime break with a 53-49 advantage.
The Denver Nuggets played the third quarter like the rim had a lid covering it. They had several well-executed plays but just could not finish with a basket. Michael Porter Jr. had a couple of wide-open shots from deep but they just would not go in. The opportunities were there but they could not capitalize on it.
The LA Clippers were only marginally better than their opponents. They also struggled to score despite some clear chances from James Harden, Norman Powell and Terance Mann. Still, kept the defending champs at arm's length and led 75-70 after three-quarters of action.
The fourth quarter was a slugfest between the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers. An old-fashioned three-point play by Nikola Jokic with a little over two minutes left made it 98-95 for the Clippers.
Two possessions later, P.J. Tucker made the game more exciting when he hacked Jokic and earned a technical foul for excessively complaining. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the bonus free throw to keep LA ahead 98-97.
Two freebies by Ivica Zubac extended the advantage to 100-97 but “The Joker” muffed a close-range shot the following play with Zubac all over him. The two-time MVP was called for a foul after the miss, forcing Zubac to go to the charity stripes again. The quiet Croatian big man made his fourth straight free throws to make it 102-97.
Nikola Jokic responded with a triple in the next play and forced a stop. The Denver Nuggets went to Aaron Gordon but the high-flying forward slipped, causing the ball to go out of bounds to give the LA Clippers the ball. LA sued for time with 33.1 seconds remaining while holding a slim 102-100 edge.
Paul George had the ball for a long time before belatedly passing it to James Harden who failed to make a hurried 3-pointer. Peyton Watson grabbed the rebound and called the Nuggets’ last timeout with 5.0 seconds left in the game.
Nikola Jokic had 12 points and seven assists in the final period but missed a desperation 3-pointer with P.J. Tucker hounding him. The miss forced Denver to leave Los Angeles with a 102-100 loss.
Denver Nuggets vs LA Clippers game player stats and box scores
Denver Nuggets game player stats
LA Clippers game player stats
Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., Paul George and James Harden's 3-pointers tonight
Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. shared a 4-for-11 first-half night in 3-pointers against the Clippers.
Paul George and James Harden struggled as well, combining to make 3-for-10 from the deep during the same stretch.
"The Joker" took two more threes in the second half and missed them both to finish 3-for-8. Porter Jr. had a rough night, ending up with just two 3-pointers in 10 attempts.
"The Beard" was even worse than the Nuggets forward, tallying 2-for-13 from the same range. "PG-13" walked away with a 2-for-6 line from behind the arc.
