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Clippers Host Nuggets In Last Home Game Of Month

Rowan Kavner

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – The Clippers already feel like the long road trip is underway.

Given how little time the Clippers have at home before their upcoming eight-game road trip, many of them treated last night like the first game of a 10-game trip and are looking at tonight as a continuation of the trip.

“Every night is a test,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “We have to take them one at a time. We’re not looking that far ahead. We won our first game on this 10-game trip. We just have to keep going.”

Tipoff: 7:30pm PST

The Clippers got home late last night, play tonight against the Nuggets and then hit the road Tuesday for the eight-game trip, which ends Feb. 9 in Dallas.

I don’t know how they put (Sunday’s) game or (tonight’s) game in, but they did, and so you just have to deal with it,” Rivers said.

The Clippers enter tonight’s game against Denver having won each of their last four games and five of their last six overall. Both teams will playing on the second game of a back-to-back. The Clippers beat the Suns in Phoenix last night, while the Nuggets lost at home.

“Especially when you’re on the road, it’s tough sometimes to close out games,” said Chris Paul. “To get (Sunday’s) win, especially going back home to play Denver, it’s good for us.”

LAST TIME OUT

Clippers 120, Suns 100 – The Clippers knew the Suns were a hard team to put away. Phoenix kept coming back after the Clippers would take early leads, but a 15-0 run for the Clippers in the fourth quarter was enough to get the job done. Chris Paul had 23 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.

Wizards 117, Nuggets 115 OT – The game was about as close as it can get, with neither team outscoring its opponent by more than two points in any quarter, including overtime. Ty Lawson finished with 31 points and 12 assists but missed a potential game-tying jumper in overtime. Wilson Chandler added 20 points and nine rebounds.

NOTEWORTHY MATCHUP

Clippers’ Bench vs. Nuggets’ Bench - Denver can thank its bench for the Nuggets’ win between the teams earlier this year. The Clippers will need to do a better job at home tonight taking care of Denver’s reserve unit, which scored 44 points in the last matchup. The Clippers have given a lot of credit to their backups for providing a rejuvenated energy, but while the arrow is trending up, Doc Rivers has said the backup play has been up and down at times. Solid play tonight will solidify that upward trend, and the good news for the Clippers is Nate Robinson, who dropped in 20 points in the first matchup, is no longer a Nugget. 

TWO THINGS TO WATCH:

From Deep – The Clippers surprisingly went 3-of-18 from 3-point range in the last matchup between these teams. That goes against what both teams have done all year. The Clippers are top five in the league in 3-point percentage, while the Nuggets are a bottom-five 3-point shooting team. Expect the Clippers to do a significantly better job from deep than the last matchup.

At The Line – The Nuggets allow the second most free throw attempts per game. If the Clippers can attack the paint, they should be able to get to the line. Both teams are in the top five in the league in free throws attempted per game.

NOTES:  The Clippers have won four straight games …The Nuggets have lost six straight games … The Nuggets are 27th in the league in points allowed per game … The Clippers lost the first matchup between these teams despite 32 points and 12 rebounds from Blake Griffin … The Clippers went 3-of-18 from 3-point range in that game … Clippers forward Dahntay Jones played one season in Denver … This will be the Clippers’ last home game of the month …