Los Angeles Clippers they fought to the end but finally fell (127-115) this Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets of a great Nikola Jokic (30 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists) and who shone from the perimeter with 16 of 32 triples. On a night with little interest in defending from either team, all of the Nuggets’ starters had at least 10 points and the team shot 54.2% from the field. The Clippers, on the other hand, struggled with their much-improveable 10-for-32 shooting from 3-point range and posted their fourth straight loss just as the regular season’s defining moment arrives. Jeff Green, Bones Hyland and Aaron Gordon had 16 points apiece to escort Jokic while the Clippers clung to the energy and tenacity of Terance Mann (24 points and 8 rebounds). The Argentine Facundo Campazzo, who is going through his worst moment with the Nuggets since he arrived in the NBA, did not have minutes in the Denver rotation.
After this game, the Nuggets consolidate against the thriving Minnesota Timberwolves their sixth position in the West, the last one that gives direct access to the playoffs, while the Clippers are still eighth in the same conference and seem doomed to play the play-in if they want be in the playoffs for the ring.
Good start for Jokic
Nikola Jokic started stomping and taking advantage of a somewhat clueless and clumsy start for the Clippers. Whether assisting or scoring on his own, the fantastic Serbian center stripped the defense of permissive and contemplative Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein. Jokic finished the quarter with 14 points and 5 rebounds for a very convincing Nuggets that closed the quarter with 8 points in a minute and a half from Bones Hyland (37-27).
The Clippers had to take advantage of Jokic’s minutes on the bench, but the Nuggets maintained their lead of around 10 points without difficulty. Tyronn Lue then opted for a more dynamic bass quintet that seemed to have an effect, since the Clippers, led by an aggressive Terance Mann, narrowed the difference (51-48 with 6.03 for the break). However, the lack of tension in the Clippers’ defense continued until the end of the first half against the Nuggets, who were very successful from 3-point range (8 of 14), fluid in the movement of the ball and went to the locker room with unbeatable feelings on attack (72-61).
He didn’t change the script too much in the restart. Mann continued to pull the cart, but the Clippers were unable to question the control of some Nuggets in which Jokic continued to play too comfortably (99-88). The key moment for the Clippers came at the start of the fourth quarter. A triple by Luke Kennard and a basket by Isaiah Hartenstein forced Michael Malone to call a timeout before the game got out of hand (99-93 with 9.59 left). The Clippers took even more momentum, revved up their game and came within just two points after a triple by Robert Covington (111-109 with 4.27 to go).
In that difficult moment, the Nuggets turned to tonight’s winning recipe: 3-pointers and Jokic. Thus, Monté Morris and Jeff Green contributed two triples in a row, Aaron Gordon took out the hammer in the area and Nikola Jokic did his bit to blur the comeback attempt of a Clippers accustomed this season to surprising victories in the last minutes.