Starters score in double figures, as Clippers post 106-93 win over Nuggets
All five starters scored in double figures, as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled out a 106-93 win over the Denver Nuggets at the Staples Centre on Wednesday night.
Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan said after the game, "That was fun. Everybody contributed and we all came out and said that we won't have the same thing happen from the last two games. We just came out and executed.”
Eric Gordon played one of his best games for the Clippers, as he scored a team-high 28 points. DeAndre Jordan also put in one of the best performances of his three-year career with 14 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks.
Rookie Blake Griffin had one of his finest games against the Nuggets, as he scored 22 points, grabbed 20 assists and 11 rebounds. Griffin had his 22nd consecutive double-double which tied him with Swen Nater for the franchise record.
Baron Davis came off the bench and finished with 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting; the fourth game in the last five he has shot at least 50 percent from the floor. Carmelo Anthony registered a game-high 31 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the defeat.
Chauncey Billups added 25 points, while Nene finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets, who lost their first game on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
Nuggets Head Coach George Karl told reporters after the game, "We weren't good at either end of the court. Most nights this year, we've had something going, but tonight our defence wasn't good enough and our offence wasn't good enough."
Game Story
Anthony was impressive in the opening quarter as he scored 14 of his 31 points in the first quarter. However, the Clippers then took charge of the first quarter, taking a 30-23 lead into the second.
In the second quarter, the Clippers got it going offensively, and used that to slowly build up an eight-point lead at half time. They scored 21 points in the second stanza, while restricting the Nuggets to 43 in the entire half.
Jordan blocked most of the tenacious shots from the Clippers. The Clippers centre has blocked 19 shots in the last three games. Before that stretch, he had 19 blocks in the previous 15.
Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said of Jordan, "The six blocked shots get us out in the open court and get us easy baskets. Not only does he block, he is also altering shots. That's a huge advantage for us."
The Nuggets were trailing by four points with eight minutes to go until the final buzzer, when Jordan tipped in a miss from Ike Diogu. Jordan then pulled down a one-handed rebound over Nene at the other end, leading to a three-point basket by Eric Gordon.
After a three-pointer by Denver guard Chauncey Billups, Gordon and Baron Davis hit back-to-back three’s for a 12-point lead with less than six minutes left. After that the Nuggets could not reduce the lead to single digits.
Up Next
The Clippers will next take on the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, 9 January, 2011 at the Staples Centre.
The Nuggets will play the Sacramento Kings in their next game on Thursday, 6 January, 2011 at the ARCO Arena.
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