Game ID: 22400087
LA Clippers @ Denver Nuggets
Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 5:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 19 23 29 33 104LAC 27 21 22 39 109
DEN vs LAC ScoutingDEN vs LAC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 10/24 · season opener
full strength
DEN availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's rest
full strength
DEN availability going into 10/28 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 2 since 10/24, out tonight
DEN availability going into 10/29 · back-to-backOUT Pickett missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 3 since 10/24, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 3
DEN availability going into 11/01 · 2 days' restOUT Pickett missed 3 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 4 since 10/24, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 3 since 10/26, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 36 min over the last 4
DEN availability going into 11/02 · back-to-backOUT Pickett missed 4 since 10/26, returns tonight: 2 min (17% of 13)
OUT Jordan missed 5 since 10/24, returns tonight: 14 min (123% of 12)
OUT Nnaji missed 4 since 10/26, returns tonight: 4 min (40% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 36 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 10/23 · season opener
full strength
LAC availability going into 10/26 · 2 days' rest
full strength
LAC availability going into 10/27 · back-to-backOUT Hyland missed 2 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Miller missed 2 since 10/23, out tonight
LAC availability going into 10/30 · 2 days' restOUT Hyland missed 3 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Miller missed 3 since 10/23, out tonight
NEW Jones Jr. 24 to 30 min over the last 3
LAC availability going into 10/31 · back-to-backOUT Hyland missed 4 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Miller missed 4 since 10/23, out tonight
NEW Jones Jr. 24 to 31 min over the last 4
LAC availability going into 11/02 · 1 day's restOUT Hyland missed 5 since 10/23, returns tonight: 4 min (38% of 11)
OUT Miller missed 5 since 10/23, returns tonight: 4 min (39% of 11)
NEW Jones Jr. 24 to 30 min over the last 5
10/24 vs OKC 87-102 — DEN notes
DEN lost 87-102. DEN shot 36% (35 of 98) to OKC's 43%, 7 of 38 from three. Jokić led with 16 (6 of 13, 1 of 3 from three); Braun added 16, Porter Jr. 15. Q4 was theirs, 19-17, the deficit cut from 17 to 15, but the other 3 periods went 85-68 against them. Westbrook's -24 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/26 vs LAC 104-109 — DEN notes
DEN lost 104-109. DEN shot 40% (35 of 87) to LAC's 49%, 14 of 35 from three. DEN turned it over 10 times to LAC's 16. Jokić led with 41 (14 of 26, 7 of 12 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Murray added 22, Braun 11. Q3 was theirs, 29-22, turning a 6-point deficit into a 1-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 87-75 against them.
11/02 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 119, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 29 free throws a game; Jokić at 30 and Gordon at 19 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Utah comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 99 a night and allowing 116, shooting 39 percent and 27 from three, 27 free throws a game; Markkanen at 18 and Collins at 15 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Hendricks (2 straight), Mykhailiuk (5 straight), Potter (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Utah giving it away 18 times a game to Denver's 12 and the arc, Denver at 36 percent from three to Utah's 27. Call it Denver 116, Utah 109.
10/23 vs PHX 113-116 — LAC notes
LAC lost 113-116 in 1 overtime. LAC took 14 more shots (92 to 78), fed by 13 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to PHX's 49%, 8 of 29 from three. Harden led with 29 (10 of 28, 2 of 9 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Zubac added 21, Powell 17. Q3 was theirs, 35-25, turning a 8-point deficit into a 2-point lead, but the other 4 periods went 91-78 against them. They led by as many as 10. Coffey's -12 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/26 @ DEN 109-104 — LAC notes
LAC won 109-104. LAC shot 49% (40 of 82) to DEN's 40%, 12 of 33 from three. LAC turned it over 16 times to DEN's 10, and DEN turned those into 13 steals. Powell led with 37 (14 of 21, 7 of 11 from three); Zubac added 24, Harden 23. The hinge was Q1, 27-19: from level to 8 ahead, and the lead reached 18. Coffey was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
11/02 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 23 free throws a game; Powell at 25 and Harden at 24 a game. They have won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 99, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 27 and Holmgren at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-6 a night and OKC minus-5 and the defense, OKC allowing 99 a night to the Clippers' 111. Call it OKC 112, the Clippers 107.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
DŠ D. Šarić
JM J. Murray
JS J. Strawther
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RW R. Westbrook
LACAC A. Coffey
DJ D. Jones Jr.
IZ I. Zubac
JH J. Harden
KD K. Dunn
KJ K. Jones
KP K. Porter Jr.
NB N. Batum
NP N. Powell
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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
Harden, Powell help Clippers overcome Jokic's 41 points to beat Nuggets 109-104
DENVER -- — James Harden had 23 points and 16 assists, Norman Powell scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Nikola Jokic 's 41 points to beat the Denver Nuggets 109-104 on Saturday.
Jokic made a career-high seven 3-pointers but missed a free throw with 20 seconds left that would have tied the game. Harden made four from the line in the final 30.5 seconds.
The Clippers trailed 103-100 when Powell hit a 3-pointer. Jamal Murray , who had 22 points, missed a layup and Harden then made two free throws.
After Jokic split a pair from the line, Harden made two more foul shots to make it 107-104 and Jokic missed an off-balance 3-pointer.
Takeaways Clippers: Harden missed a free throw in the opening loss to Phoenix on Wednesday but was 12 of 13 from the line on Saturday. Several of his 16 assists were to Ivica Zubac , who had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
Nuggets: The offense was better but the bench was 3 of 18 from the field. Only Julian Swather hit a field goal for that unit.
Key moment Jokic presented Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon with his MVP trophy in the Avalanche’s home opener two weeks ago, and MacKinnon returned the favor before Saturday’s tip. He brought out the Michael Jordan Trophy while wearing a Jokic jersey and gave the three-time MVP a hug.
Key stat Denver hit just 7 of 38 shots from 3-point range in Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City and started Saturday missing 11 of 13. The Nuggets made 12 of their next 20 from deep but missed their final two attempts.
Up next The Clippers travel to Golden State on Sunday night while the Nuggets begin a three-game road trip at Toronto on Monday night.