The Denver Nuggets looked a bit lost in the second quarter and had just 48 points in the first half, but they stormed to 72 in the second half and routed the Los Angeles Clippers 120-98. Norman Powell and Kevin Porter Jr. led the Clippers in scoring with 16 points apiece, while Harden added 15 but had 9 turnovers as Denver’s defense was especially stout during most of the second half. The Nuggets had a very understated game from Nikola Jokic, who was the target of every member of the Clippers every time he entered the paint and finished with 16 points and 7 assists in just 29 minutes as he sat out the whole 4th quarter due to Denver’s big lead. Jamal Murray led Denver with 20 points and looked invigorated after missing several games with a hamstring issue, while Michael Porter Jr. sparked the turn around with double-digit scoring in the third quarter. It was a team effort on both ends tonight, and that effort led to an easy win down the 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 2 attempts, then Harden hit from deep. Jokic and MPJ miscommunicated on a lob, but Jamal Murray buried a pull-up three and then Denver forced a turnover and Aaron Gordon drove the rim for a bucket and the 6-5 Denver lead after his free throw. Murray was active early but Denver had three turnovers before Jokic drove the rim for his first basket off a Murray assist. Jokic drove again for another layup his next time down, answered by Zubac on the other end. AG got fouled under the bucket by Norman Powell and made both free throws, then muscled by Harden the next time down for another bucket. James Harden fell down on one side and didn’t get the call, and in transition Murray hit another 3 a couple feet behind the line to make it 17-10 Nuggets early.
Powell missed another three-point attempt, Jokic turned it over, and Dunn hit a layup over Nikola. MPJ missed a straight-away 3 but finished a transition dunk from AG the next time down. Dunn hit a three, Harden hit a layup to close to four, but Jokic got the line on the other end. MPJ made a pair of free throws, and Bones Hyland missed an oop that allowed Watson to score in transition for Denver. Mo Bamba finished a dunk the next time, Peyton Watson hit a tough jumper falling down for Denver, but Kevin Porter Jr. hit a lucky three to limit Denver’s lead to 29-22 after one.
The second quarter started with Peyton Watson free throws and a missed 3 from Julian Strawther, but Strawther grabbed a defensive rebound and took it the length of the court for the finish the next time. Jamal Murray nailed a mid-ranger when Hyland died on a screen as Denver got the lead back to double digits, and Russell Westbrook missed an oop to Deandre Jordan but they nailed it on the next possession. The Nuggets still had trouble with turnovers though, as Murray had a few careless ones in the second quarter. Another turnover by Russ, 4th in 5 possessions, left Denver up 36-26. Murray had a great steal off Harden but did not get a whistle the other way. Westbrook missed a layup but Jordan tipped it in, but then Russ turned over a steal – Denver’s 11th turnover in 18 minutes – and James Harden hit a 3. Jokic came back in right as the Clippers hit another 3, and then a jumper for Los Angeles cut it to 38-36 Denver. The Nuggets only had a handful of assists and couldn’t find their touch from the field, giving up the lead to the Clippers after a 13-0 run with Denver mostly standing around when they weren’t turning it over. The Nuggets scored 10 points in 10 minutes before Christian Braun finally made his first bucket in transition, then dunked off Jokic’s first assist. Nikola Jokic buried a three and Braun dunked hard in transition in the waning seconds, and despite turning the ball over 14 times in the half the Nugget held the lead 48-47 at halftime.
Denver had back-to-back turnovers right at the start of the third quarter before Jamal hit a long jumper but then turned it over again to give the Clippers a 3. Braun missed another 3 while Batum made one for the Clippers as the Nuggets continued to play Jokic around the perimeter where he was neither shooting nor passing but rather working to get his teammates open with screens and positioning. After a timeout, Jamal hit a reverse layup, then AG buried a 3 to tie it at 55. Jamal hit free throws after another Clippers 3, then deflected a Harden attempt that turned into a Braun transition bucket while Denver’s defense cranked up. MPJ buried a sidestep three, Murray and Gordon both missed shots, and MPJ got back to the free throw line to get Denver’s lead up to 66-60 right before he buried a follow-up dunk on a Jokic miss. He then helped turn Harden over and got a nice bounce on a three to make it 71-60. Denver forced a couple of turnovers and MPJ got the ball to Jokic for the score. Jokic missed a spinning layup but buried a three, but Denver allowed some drives from the Clippers to cut Denver’s lead back to 10. Strawther had a wonderful fast break pass to MPJ for a finish in the waning seconds and Denver finished firing on all cylinders up 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 playing hard near the rim. Westrbrook forced another turnover but couldn’t convert, and Bones Hyland swished a three. Watson made a corner 3, Russ finished a lucky layup, and Murray answered a Clippers dunk with a paint finish around Hyland. Jamal then stripped Bones and set up a fantastic finish with a monster Strawther dunk for a 100-78 lead. Denver’s defense kept the Clippers down, Watson scored in transition again. Russell Westbrook grabbed another steal and dunked the fastbreak to punctuate Denver’s rout as more bench players filtered in at 106-84. Watson snagged another steal and finish, Jalen Pickett and Zeke Nnaji helped with the bench points, and Denver kept the Clippers under 100, winning 120-98.
Final Thoughts
– Denver had a lapse in the second, but proved they could overcome. Giving up an 18-1 run in the second would normally cause them issues this year, but the Nuggets righted the ship and retook the lead at the half, and then even a slow start to the second couldn’t stop them. Once they got rolling in the second they never looked back, clamping the Clippers on defense and running Los Angeles at every opportunity in transition. MPJ was big in the third on both ends, bringing a much-needed scoring presence as well as rebounds and some nice transition work. Jamal Murray worked hard on both ends also, with just the turnovers blighting his box score, and Jokic took much of the night off as far as his workload was concerned. He screened and fed players but the Clippers were intent on showing they would pack the paint to stop Jokic at any cost in order to win – and they lost handily with that plan.
– It wasn’t perfect, but that’s what made it beautiful in the end. The first half was maddeningly disjointed, with disgusting turnovers everywhere. Denver had 22 on the night – but managed to force 21 of their own and except for that weird 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, so while the assist totals were ugly early the Nuggets finished with 23 and showed they would take personal responsibility for that hard play that had been missing last week in the poor 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 – not something that has happened much this year. If effort was the missing piece, then tonight showed the Nuggets don’t have to play the most beautiful game to win. They can win by getting dirty and scrapping, and keeping the pressure on. Denver found that switch in the second half when they needed it – but they found it because they kept searching for it, undeterred. More of that kind of drive the rest of the season, please.
