LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Clippers can sympathize with the Denver Nuggets' problems on the road but do not want to help alleviate them.

Elton Brand had a season-high 31 points and 14 rebounds and Quentin Richardson scored five of his 17 points during a key fourth-quarter run as Los Angeles posted a 102-89 victory over Denver, which has lost 13 straight road games.

The Nuggets have won just two of 18 games away from home for the worst road record in the Western Conference. They are barely behind the Clippers, who are 3-14 on the road but continue to play well at the Staples Center.

Los Angeles led by as many as 20 points in the first quarter, but Denver responded with a huge second quarter and took a 71-69 lead on a 3-pointer by Nick Van Exel with 1:21 left in the third period.

NBA.comTV highlights from Nuggets-Clippers: 56k | 300k Elton Brand and the Clippers rose above the Nuggets. Andy Hayt NBAE/Getty Images

Brand followed with a jumper to tie it and Jeff McInnis gave the Clippers the lead for good, 73-71, on a runner with 34 seconds left.

Los Angeles was clinging to a 79-77 lead less than three minutes into the fourth quarter when Darius Miles nailed a 16-footer to spark a 9-1 run.

Richardson sank a jumper during the burst and capped it with a 3-pointer to give the Clippers an 88-78 cushion with 8:24 to play. The Nuggets never got closer than eight points thereafter.

"We let a nice lead slip away but we pulled it together and got it going in the fourth quarter," Richardson said.

"We let them back in the game," Brand said. "We had to fight it out. We had to gut one out. We would rather win with a 20-point lead, but we'll take it either way."

McInnis scored 13 points and fellow reserve Darius Miles scored five of his 12 in the fourth quarter, including a thunderous dunk over Ryan Bowen with 2:11 remaining.

"Our bench played great tonight," Gentry said. "Quentin and Darius gave us a huge lift. I'm not going to complain about a win. We'll take them anyway we can. We had a great start, struggled a little bit in between, finished strong and won the game."

Los Angeles won for the third time in five games overall and extended its home winning streak to four games.

"We're trying to get in a zone where we win some games," said Richardson. "But we have to go on the road and win some games."

Michael Olowokandi had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Richardson pulled down 10 boards for Los Angeles, which held a 50-41 edge on the glass.

Van Exel had 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Denver, which has not won on the road since November 17 at Seattle.

"I don't think we have confidence," Van Exel said. "I don't think our mental game is good. We've got to find a way out of it. One guy loses his concentration, the next guy does it, and then it's a mental breakdown with the whole team."

"At home it's easy to play," Nuggets guard Calbert Cheaney said. "On the road you don't have your own fans, you lose focus.

Olowokandi scored 12 points in the first quarter, when the Clippers shot 62 percent (16-of-26). Los Angeles had its largest lead, 35-15, with 87 seconds left in the opening period and had a 37-21 cushion heading into the second quarter.

The Clippers had a 45-29 advantage less than three minutes into the second period, but the Nuggets closed with a 33-14 run. Voshon Lenard scored nine of his 16 points during the burst, which brought Denver within 59-52 at halftime.

The Nuggets trailed, 61-54, early in the third quarter before scoring nine of the next 13 points. Van Exel scored the final four on a pair of jumpers to get Denver within 65-63.

Van Exel drained consecutive 3-pointers in a span of 26 seconds late in the period to give the Nuggets their only lead of the game.

"We spotted them 19 points but made a hell of a run," Nuggets coach Mike Evans said. "When you expend that kind of energy you are going to run out of gas."

Zendon Hamilton collected 13 points and 10 rebounds for undersized Denver, which shot just 41 percent (37-of-91) and allowed 56 points in the paint.