Denver Nuggets @ LA Clippers
Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA | Game ID: 22301114
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 20 33 22 27 102DEN 31 18 21 30 100
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
George, Clippers overcome Jokic's triple-double and hang on to beat Nuggets 102-100
LOS ANGELES -- — Paul George scored 28 points, James Harden added 20 and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame an early 17-point deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 102-100 on Thursday night.
The Clippers snapped a five-game skid at home despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard , who missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee.
“All in all, it was a good win for us,” Harden said. “The first quarter we got down and didn't panic and the second quarter we made some shots. Defensively, we locked in.”
Nikola Jokic had 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists — his 24th triple-double of the season — to lead Denver, but missed a potential winning 3-point attempt as time expired. Aaron Gordon added 18 points.
Denver had won two in a row and six of eight.
“Kawhi didn't play but they have multiple guys who can defend multiple positions. That's why they're so good,” Jokic said.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was ejected with 7:54 remaining in the game. He came on the court to argue with the officials and was hit with two technical fouls.
The Clippers took a 75-70 lead into the fourth. They made 9 of 10 free throws while extending their lead to 90-79.
George returned for the Clippers and Jokic came back too, and the Nuggets outscored the Clippers 18-8 to trail 98-97.
Ivica Zubac made four straight free throws, but Jokic hit a 3-pointer that cut the Clippers' lead to 102-100.
Harden missed a jumper and the Nuggets called timeout with five seconds left. Guarded by P.J. Tucker , Jokic's 3-point attempt at the buzzer missed.
“It's really hard in those situations, especially because I think the ball was in the worst possible spot,” Jokic said. “Sometimes you make it, sometimes you don't.”
Led by nine points from George, the Clippers outscored the Nuggets 17-8 to open the third and take their largest lead, 70-57. Jokic had just four points in the period.
The Clippers got back into it in the second behind their bench, which outscored Denver 21-0 in the first half. After starting 0 for 5, Harden hit a 3-pointer and scored his first 14 points in the period to help the Clippers lead 53-49 at halftime.
The Nuggets raced to a 17-point lead to start the game. Jokic assisted on early baskets by his teammates before he finally scored for the first time with 5:18 left in the first.
Denver's Jamal Murray sat out with right knee inflammation.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Host Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.
Clippers: Host Utah Jazz on Friday night in the second game of a back-to-back.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
JH J. Holiday
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
KC K. Caldwell-Pope
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
LACAC A. Coffey
IZ I. Zubac
JH J. Harden
MP M. Plumlee
NP N. Powell
PG P. George
PT P. Tucker
RW R. Westbrook
TM T. Mann
DEN/LAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur