Notebook: Nuggets 112, Clippers 91

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Friday February 3, 2012 1:49AM

THE FACTS: Looking for a good start to their second three-games-in-three-nights stretch, the Nuggets rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit Thursday night and ran away from the Clippers in the second, avoiding their first three-game losing streak of the season with a 112-91 victory at Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "In a lot of ways, that was the best game we played all year."
-- Nuggets coach George Karl.

THE STAT: Nuggets guard Andre Miller, a former member of the Clippers, and L.A. guard Chauncey Billups, who spent parts of five seasons in Denver, each appeared in their 1,000th career game Thursday night. Miller finished with eight points and eight assists off the bench. Billups, who torched the Nuggets for 32 points Sunday in Denver, also scored eight points.

TURNING POINT: Trailing by three points coming out of the half, the Clippers looked like they received a shot of momentum when 6-foot-11 center DeAndre Jordan blocked Nene's shot on the opening possession, his fifth swat of the game. Unfortunately for the Clippers, the ball came out to hot-shooting forward Danilo Gallinari, who sank a spot-up 3-pointer to ignite a 13-4 run and the Clippers never cut the deficit back to single digits.

HOT: The Clippers continued their trend of fast starts, outscoring the Nuggets 32-19 in the first quarter. The Clippers have scored at least 29 points in the opening 12 minutes in nine of the last 16 games. They also pushed their first-quarter scoring average to 30.9 points, tops in the NBA ... Gallinari, who signed a multi-year contract extension last week, finished with 21 points, hitting all five 3-point attempts. Gallinari has scored at least 20 points in five of the last seven games and 10 overall.

NOT: Ever since the huge game Sunday against his former team, Billups has struggled to regain his shot. He was 2-for-9 in the rematch against the Nuggets, a night after shooting 1-for-8 in Utah.

GOOD MOVE: Karl gave shooting guard Arron Afflalo the assignment of guarding Clippers point guard Chris Paul, who was coming off a monster performance against the Jazz, scoring a season-high 34 points and handing out 11 assists to lead the Clippers to just their second win in Utah since 1989. With a five-inch height advantage on Paul, the former Compton resident was able to turn Paul into more of a distributor than scorer, and he finished with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting with nine assists.

BAD MOVE: Jordan was slowed by a hyper-extended left knee suffered against the Jazz and it showed in his mobility. Still, when the Nuggets went small with 6-foot-9 Al Harrington in the middle, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro opted to keep Jordan on the floor, even though Blake Griffin could have guarded him, with Ryan Gomes or Caron Butler playing power forward. Surprisingly, Del Negro also reinserted Paul in the game with the Clippers trailing by 20 points and just under 11 minutes remaining in the fourth. Paul was the only Clippers starter to play in the final quarter.

QUOATABLE II: "We played hard for about a period and a half and then the floodgates opened up."
-- Vinny Del Negro.

NOTABLE: Denver avoided losing a third straight game for the first time this season. The Nuggets are the only team in the league that has not lost four straight since 2006-07 season ... The Nuggets also ended a three-game losing streak to the Clippers, their longest active losing streak against any NBA opponent ... The Clippers, who are on the road until Feb. 15, were trying to win five straight games for the first time since November 2006.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Saturday @ Washington, Monday @ Orlando, Wednesday @ Cleveland. For the Nuggets, Friday vs. L.A. Lakers, Saturday @ Portland, Monday vs. Houston.