The Denver Nuggets opened Summer League play tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers as the night cap to a hot evening in Las Vegas. The Nuggets ran a rotation that was mostly made up of players who will be on the roster come fall but the Clippers had a monster performance from Jordan Miller. That was enough to offset nice games from Julian Strawther and Hunter Tyson on Denver’s side. The biggest development of the night though was Denver’s first round pick, DaRon Holmes II, having to leave the game late with a leg injury which the Altitude broadcast said was achilles soreness during the postgame show. He didn’t return which added to the sting of a 88-78 loss for the Nuggets.

Denver got some early offense from their top shooters. First Tyson hit a three and then Strawther followed up with a signature floater and a three of his own. After that the offense stagnated greatly. The same was true for the Clippers and points became a premium in a tough game to watch. The Clippers got on a run and took a lead towards the back half of the quarter. Denver responded with back to back threes to take a short lead but the Clippers finished the first up 17-16.


Denver’s two-way’s led the scoring effort to start the second quarter. Trey Alexander hit a three before P.J. Hall got a couple buckets and then Alexander hit a couple more after that. The Nuggets went on an 8-0 run to get up 28-22. After a timeout, the Clippers settled things down and pushed back to get within two. Denver’s group held strong and stopped the run but they were struggling to score after their initial run to start the quarter. Eventually L.A. grabbed a small lead and held it down the stretch. Going into the half they were up 41-38.


Denver was clunky to start the second half and the Clippers lead grew. There were a couple of offensive fouls and the theme of scoring struggles continued. Strawther started to assert himself to pull Denver back in it and they got within two which made L.A. take a timeout. He kept the pressure on and was the main catalyst for Denver’s offense which kept pace with L.A. who was running everything through Miller. They stayed in the lead with the third quarter winding down and the Nuggets going cold once again. After three the Clippers led 60-57.


Strawther kept attacking to open the fourth and drew back to back fouls on drives. Alexander also was aggressive. The game stayed tight and the Clippers tied the game around the four minute mark. After that it was worst case scenario for Denver with Holmes coming up hobbled after chasing a rebound and leaving the game. Shortly after that Strawther took a hard foul but and was very hobbled while he took free throws. He left the game on the next possession but was able to check back in shortly thereafter in what looked to be a case of cramps. Holmes went back to the locker room. That took the wind out of Denver’s sails and they lost the hustle battle with the game coming to an end. The Clippers extended their lead to eight in the final minute and ultimately secured the win. Denver loses 88-78.