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Clippers Live At The Line In Preseason Loss To Nuggets At Mandalay Bay

LAS VEGAS – Blake Griffin didn’t let five fouls early in the second half bother him as he poured in 27 points, but a couple of late Clippers surges came up just short Saturday night at Mandalay Bay.

The Clippers rode a 19-8 run into halftime to tie the game at 51 at the break and had another 9-4 run in the fourth quarter sparked by Griffin and Jared Cunningham, but the Clippers failed to get one last run before time expired in a 104-93 preseason loss to the Nuggets.

“No question, we’ve got to be a little more aggressive, try to get to the line a little bit more,” said Chris Paul. “Teams are getting a lot of free throws on us every night, we’ve got to do the same.”

The Clippers didn’t have much of an issue getting to the line Saturday. Their free throws helped keep the game tight and chip away at the lead.

Clippers vs. Denverat Mandalay Bay

They finished with a 73.3 free-throw percentage, sinking 33 shots from the line. Three different Clippers players sunk at least seven free throws, led by Griffin’s nine points at the line.

Along with an impressive highlight-reel, left-handed finish on an alley-oop, Griffin stayed aggressive throughout the night despite picking up his fifth foul early in the third quarter.

“I think it’s a good experience for me to play with fouls and still be aggressive and not be too tentative,” Griffin said. “That’s when you pick up more fouls, trying to avoid fouls.”

Guard Jamal Crawford stayed hot again, scoring at least 20 points for the second straight game. He finished with 23 points while making the start for J.J. Redick, who was given the night off.

Chris Paul, who had 13 points, and Cunningham, who poured in 10 points in seven minutes, joined Griffin and Crawford as the four Clippers in double figures.

Notes: The Clippers are dealing with a couple more injuries after the back-to-back, as Chris Douglas-Roberts sat out Saturday with an ankle injury and Jordan Farmar’s lower back gave him problems late against the Nuggets. Doc Rivers thought his defense didn’t get beat off the dribble much, but he’s looking to keep opponents off the offensive glass more often. Rivers said he didn’t plan on playing his starters as much as he did, but “at halftime, they basically begged to play.” Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Crawford and Paul all ended up playing more than 30 minutes.