The Denver Nuggets without Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon defeated the Los Angeles Clippers . Jokic and Gordon missed the game due to illness and injury respectively, while Kawhi Leonard stepped away from the Clippers tonight to help his family due to the fires in Los Angeles. Jamal Murray led Denver with 21 points and 9 assists, while Russell Westbrook set the tone in effort and intensity with 19 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. added 19 points and 8 boards while Deandre Jordan, Christian Braun and Julian Strawther all had double-digit points in the win. Norman Powell had 30 points to pace the Clippers but James Harden only had 16 on 5-for-15 shooting and no one else for Los Angeles had more than 10. Denver is now 8-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season, with a complete performance from the entire rotation that even allowed the starters to rest a little at the end that earned them a standing ovation at the buzzer.
Game Flow
Jamal Murray started the scoring with a drive to the bucket and made a free throw on a foul to boot. Michael Porter Jr. missed a long three, and turnovers from each team led to a Norman Powell transition 3. Russell Westbrook airballed a three, then missed a layup the next time down. The Clippers kept missing however and Christian Braun’s three off an MPJ rebound was followed by a blown play by Jamal Murray. Amir Coffey and James Harden sandwiched buckets around a Braun transition dunk, and Murray had a nice layup to put Denver up 10-7 early. Nic Batum tied it with a straight-away three, which Murray answered with a tough two. MPJ buried a nice shot, then hit a step back 3 to extend the lead to 7, but Powell answered with a 3 for the Clippers. Deandre Jordan had a strong finish off a Murray pass, and Westbrook grabbed a missed free throw for a putback, then MPJ buried another three for a 24-13 lead as Denver worked hard for their points. The Clippers missed some open shots and the Nuggets defended and rebounded well on others, but it was up to an 18-3 run for Denver after a Westbrook three. Julian Strawther had a sprint-back block while the Clippers missed both free throws on the foul, and then Strawther got to the line for 2. Harden finally made his second shot, Strawther buried a deep three, and despite 5 turnovers in the quarter the Nuggets led after one 33-19.
Peyton Watson had a nifty reverse finish off a Murray pass to start the second quarter scoring. The Clippers had a couple of free throws and a made bucket from Kevin Porter Jr, but Murray hit a nice contested three to answer. Kevin Porter hit another mid-range bucket, Dario Saric made a corner three and then had a steal that led to a Murray transition three and a tease of a near-Blue-Arrow celebration and a 44-25 lead. Ivica Zubac had a traditional three-point play for Los Angeles, Saric had a putback off a Peyton Watson miss, and then Braun’s transition layup and free throw made it a 20-point lead. Watson tracked down a missed three from the Clippers and Strawther buried a pair of threes the other way. Derrick Jokes Jr dunked one home, and Powell made a long 2 for the Clippers, while Peyton Watson missed his next attempt a reverse finish. Braun fouled Harden on a two, Zubac banked in a shot after a Denver turnover and Malone called a timeout to tighten up some things. Things did not get tightened up however, as the Clippers cut the lead to 15 and Denver struggled through a few possessions until an MPJ rebound and outlet turned into a Braun finish. Harden hit an answering bucket, Zubac blocked a Russ layup out of bounds, and Russ missed a pair of threes and a dunk. MPJ took a Jordan feed for a dunk, Powell answered with a layup, and Porter answered right back with a cut and finish. Jordan put back an MPJ miss, Westbrook got to the rack for a layup, and Harden made his second 3 in the final minute as Denver went into the half up 66-50.
MPJ nailed a three to open the third quarter scoring, then grabbed a defensive rebound. Westbrook missed a layup and a three, but a Westbrook-to-Jordan oop got Denver’s scoring back on track as Denver turned the Clippers over 3 times. Braun got his fourth foul though and Zubac got free throws to make it 71-55. MPJ finished a Murray assist in the paint, answered by Powell’s floater, and then Jordan got to the line for Denver. Westbrook had another assist to Jordan, and then both teams got to the line as the whistles blew repeatedly. A tremendous transition game from MPJ to Murray to Westbrook led to a goaltend on the Clippers and an 81-59 lead. Westbrook had a putback, MPJ had an incredibly tough stepback, and Westbrook then finished a traditional three-point play. Russ banked in a shot, Powell answered with a nice shot, and then Westbrook hit Watson for a dunk as Denver went on a 17-7 run. Jordan had another dunk, again answered by Powell for the Clippers, and then Russ had a great finish. Saric missed the final shot at the buzzer, but Denver’s effort and energy created a 21 point lead after 3, 98-77.
Jamal Murray made a three to begin the fourth, Saric had a nice defensive rebound and Watson made a great bank shot. Strawther buried a transition 3 for his 14th point, and Murray hit another 3 to boost the lead to 109-80. Watson made a good defensive play and then went coast-to-coast for a nice finish, while Strawther missed a couple of long threes. He grabbed a nice board though, and some of the reserves filtered in for the Clippers with Denver up 111-88 and 6 minutes to go. Strawther turned the ball over trying to get it to Saric, but Braun had a great finish over Mo Bamba. Christian then grabbed an errant board and swished a three with the rest of the bench coming in for Denver. Trey Alexander missed a three, grabbed a rebound on a Bones Hyland shot and then set up Jalen Pickett for a three as garbage time got truly underway. Denver did not hold the Clippers under 100 but it was still a wonderful and complete win, 126-103.
Final Thoughts
– Russell Westbrook set the example for the Nuggets in Jokic’s absence – again. He rebounds hard so they rebound harder. He passes the ball and runs hard and the rest of the guys follow suit. He makes mistakes but doesn’t dwell on them, so the rest of the Nuggets are getting a shorter memory for their own mistakes. He looks for MPJ which keeps Mike active in the game, Murray scrambles for more block attempts and rebounds with Russ flying around, and Westbrook’s ability to take pressure off him as an on-ball player seems to let Murray round out his game. It’s not perfect basketball, especially from a fouls perspective, but it is energetic basketball and Denver’s response on a back-to-back once again came through with all the effort you could ask for on no rest. Westbrook’s absolute refusal to jog through anything definitely helps both the team and the crowd to buy into what they are seeing.
– This is how Denver needs to play all the time with Jokic off the floor. I know he was never on the floor, but without both their MVP in Jokic and their defensive captain in Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets toughed it out. Deandre Jordan was huge both from a rebounding perspective and in putting pressure on the rim. MPJ and Murray both looked for their shots from deep to spread the floor and also to help the team in other ways. Strawther made shots, Saric wasn’t a liability, while Watson and Braun had to cover a multitude of sins defensively and run in transition. This is what Nuggets fans have been asking for all year: just play hard, know your role, cover for one another. Denver is starting to do that, and if they keep that up when the roster is at full strength then the Nuggets are going to turn from a dangerous team with the MVP into a scary one.
