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Clippers Finally Triumph Over Nuggets, 111-102 The Clippers finally conquered their demons and beat the Denver Nuggets 111-102 in a close, hard-fought contest in Los Angeles. Summary The game started, like so many Clippers-Nuggets games over the past few years, with the Nuggets looking very comfortable. The Clippers’ offense was generating solid looks but not converting, while the Nuggets were making everything. The result? An early 19-6 lead before Kawhi stuck a midrange shot. Russ checked in, followed by Norm and Theis, and the energy improved a bit as did the offense – but, crucially, not the defense. When the defense finally did get stops, keyed by a couple Theis stands on Jokic, the Clippers then couldn’t convert on offense. The 1st quarter ended with a dismal 36-21 Clippers deficit. For the second game in a row Ty Lue went with a Harden-Norm-PG-Kobe-Theis second unit. And, for the second consecutive game, the lineup did work. Harden was at the controls of the offense, and he was masterful, picking apart the Nuggets defense with his playmaking while scoring as needed. On the other end, the offensive-deficient Nuggets’ bench was allowed to shoot and handle at will, with the Clippers focusing all of their attention on stopping the staggered Jamal Murray. Finally, the Clippers tied it up at the 6:46 mark on a Kobe 3. Denver timeout. The Clippers’ starters began trickling back in a moment later, but they had the momentum while Jokic, frustrated by Theis and then Zu, kept missing. Soon, incredibly, the Clippers’ lead reached nine on a 16-2 run. The quarter then closed with a Murray and Jokic flurry that brought the lead down to four, but Harden’s 11 points and 8 assists matched Jokic’s 12 and 6 as the dominant offensive players of their respective teams. Jokic seemed determined to put his rough first half behind him, scoring four points quickly to tie it. The Nuggets and Clippers then went back and forth for a number of minutes, with neither team able to get much traction going offensively. There were missed shots, bad turnovers, and overall questionable decision-making, but when the dust settled the Nuggets had a 78-74 lead with 4:02 to go. The Clippers began sending in their subs at this point, and Daniel Theis’ frustration of Jokic got the Clippers a 5-0 run and out in front. However, the last couple minutes were extremely ugly, with Reggie Jackson hitting a three and a free throw to give the Nuggets a three-point lead at 82-79 after three. The Clippers began the 4th with their now usual bench unit, but with Russ instead of Harden. Russ had some nice energy plays and a couple buckets in transition while Paul George drained a couple threes, but a couple blown plays let the Nuggets’ pretty terrible bench stay attached, with the Clippers up 90-89 with 7:57 to go. A minute later, with the Clippers up 92-89, Ty brought the starters – sans Terance – back in. Things were sloppy for a minute or two with not much good offense being generated until Harden hit a stepback three, putting the Clippers up 95-91 with 5 to go. The Clippers and Nuggets went back and forth for a couple minutes, with Kawhi being the main guy for the Clippers. But despite a miss here or there, the Clippers were able to stay in front by four to six points. With the Clippers up six with two minutes to go, Zu had an incredible block on Jokic, capping a frustrating night for the Serbian superstar. The rest of the way was more or less a foul game, with the Clippers making just about all of them and pulling out the 111-102 win. Notes The Russ Minutes Question: On Twitter, there was some murmuring when Ty pulled Russ with 7 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. Russ had been great to start the period, and his energy was key in getting a three point deficit to a three point lead. Forget for a second that Russell Westbrook is an iconic player, a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Most players in his current role, as an energy bench guard, are brought in to do exactly what he did – and then pulled for the starters to close things out. There is no shame in accepting a bench role or taking fewer minutes. Russ can help this team win games by bringing pace, rebounding, and ferocity off of the bench. And honestly, the best way to prove the haters wrong is not to fruitlessly try to throw the clock back to MVP Russ when the scoring in the halfcourt simply isn’t there for him. It’s to graciously step back, do all of the little things that he still does so well, and meld into a team as a non-star player. It’s something many other superstars never figured out, but hopefully Russ does. Because he can be good and helpful for this team! Harden, Balling: James Harden, too, is a far cry from his MVP days. But his playmaking and passing abilities remain second to just a handful of the very best players in the NBA, and they were on full display tonight with his 11 assists. The stepback jumper is still there for him if he wants it, and he’s flashed a very crafty in-between game from midrange and floater spots that are reminiscent of a pre-star Harden on the OKC Thunder. He won’t always be this good, but the Clippers’ offense in the halfcourt looks at its best when Harden has the ball and is running pick and roll. Jokic Off: Look, the elephant in the room is that Jokic went 9-32 and missed a ton of shots he would normally make. That’s all true. Still, the Clippers played good, physical defense on him without fouling, and forced him into uncomfortable looks. It’s good they won this one, because they will probably never see this poor a Jokic performance ever again. Clippers Finally Triumph Over Nuggets, 111-102
Robert Flom
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