The Nuggets got dominated by the Los Angeles Clippers, falling 107-92 at home and moving to 28-49 on the season. The Nuggets are now 2-1 against the Clippers this season and never led in this game. The Clippers got out to a fast start, going on a 24-6 run in the first quarter, shooting 5-5 from the three point line and never looking back. Denver’s starters were dominated here, getting outscored 84-50 by the Clippers starting unit.
Denver had a problem fouling too much in this game, allowing the Clippers to take 42 free throw attempts and adapting a “Hack-A-Jordan” strategy in the third quarter. The Clippers were led by their backcourt, as J.J. Redick scored 25 points and Chris Paul scored 23 points and dished out nine assists. Redick and Paul in this game killed Denver from deep, shooting a combined 8/14 from beyond the arc. The Nuggets also once again struggled to shoot the ball, especially in the first half. Denver finished shooting 38% from the field, 27% from the three point line and 71% from the charity stripe.
Final Thought
DeAndre Jordan killed the Nuggets on the glass this game, finishing with 22 rebounds(Hickson and Faried combined for only 20 rebounds in this game). He had seven offensive rebounds and did a great job creating second chance opportunities, for the Clippers. I like what I saw from “King Joffrey” in this game, he made some very nice plays off the dribble. Lauvergne finished with seven points in only nine minutes, on 3-5 shooting from the field. He had a nice lefty tip in, and one play and a left handed reverse baseline drive, in the fourth quarter. In games where he’s played 15+ minutes this season, Lauvergne has averaged 7.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game
