Nuggets-Clippers Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Feb 21 2012 1:46PM

Injuries have hit the Denver Nuggets hard, coinciding with their recent struggles.

One of their few victories in the rough stretch came against the Los Angeles Clippers, who also aren't playing their best basketball of late.

Short-handed Denver visits Los Angeles on Wednesday night as the Clippers look to avoid the first three-game skid of the Chris Paul era.

The Nuggets have been without Danilo Gallinari (left ankle) since Feb. 8 and Nene (left calf strain) since Feb. 14, while key reserve Rudy Fernandez missed his second straight game Monday with a lower back strain.

Making matters worse, Ty Lawson left in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle and is day to day. Backup point guard Andre Miller was ejected in the third.

Denver persevered, though, as Al Harrington had a season-high 31 points off the bench and Arron Afflalo scored with 33.7 seconds remaining in a 103-101 overtime win over Minnesota.

The Nuggets (18-15) had lost 10 of 13.

"We needed this one," swingman Corey Brewer told the team's official website. "After the two tough losses we had, we had to get this one. We were able to get it. Now we have to build on it."

Coach George Karl said Nene may be back later in the week, while he expects Gallinari to return shortly after the All-Star break.

"Nobody said it was going to be easy," Harrington told the team's official website. "Nobody's going to feel sorry for us. Everybody just has to pull their weight a little bit more. When Andre got kicked out, I just told the guys – especially Arron – we've got to find a way to take over this game."

Denver did just that after falling behind by 13 points in the first quarter in the last meeting with the Clippers, charging back to win 112-91 on Feb. 2.

That ended a three-game losing streak to Los Angeles that included a 109-105 home loss Jan. 29.

The Clippers (19-11) had won six of eight following the most recent matchup with the Nuggets, but they've lost consecutive games for only the second time this season after falling 104-97 at Golden State on Monday.

Paul had a team-high 24 points and six assists while Blake Griffin finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Los Angeles hadn't lost back-to-back contests since Dec. 28 and 30.

"This one hurt, and it should hurt," Griffin said. "... "We can't coast the whole game and expect to win at the end. We need to play with a better sense of urgency."

Griffin went 9 for 12 from the field for 18 points and Paul had 15 points and nine assists in the last meeting with the Nuggets. Denver got 18 points from Lawson and 15 from Afflalo in that contest.

Paul has averaged 22.8 points and 10.8 assists in his last 13 games against Denver, but Harrington is averaging only 6.0 points in his last five versus Los Angeles.

Clippers beat Nuggets 103-95 to end 2-game skid

By BETH HARRIS
Posted Feb 23 2012 2:32AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Chris Paul and Blake Griffin had a little business to take care of before jetting off to the All-Star game. They helped deliver a morale-boosting victory to the Los Angeles Clippers, who at 20-11 are off to their best start since 1974-75.

Paul scored a season-high 36 points and Griffin added 27 in a 103-95 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night that snapped a two-game skid in their final game before the break.

The teams had split their first two meetings, with the Nuggets winning 112-91 nearly three weeks ago.

"They pretty much embarrassed us on national TV last time so it was good to get this win and get our confidence going into the break," Paul said.

Paul and Griffin are headed to the game as starters in Orlando. They'll return to a team that is No. 3 in the West and atop the Pacific Division to open the second half of the lockout-shortened season.

"That's when it gets serious, after the break," Paul said. "Definitely a lot of room for improvement. Obviously we haven't peaked yet and we can keep getting better."

Griffin had 12 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 16 boards as the Clippers improved to 12-4 at home.

"We feel pretty good," Griffins said. "Obviously we lost some ones that we didn't want to and we shouldn't have, but that's going to happen. We got to keep plugging."

Arron Afflalo scored 20 points and rookie Jordan Hamilton added a season-high 18 points for the injury-riddled Nuggets, who lost their fifth in a row on the road. They played without Danilo Gallinari, Ty Lawson, Nene and Rudy Fernandez.

The teams played it close throughout with 23 lead changes and 16 ties.

Paul scored 17 straight points over the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth that extended the Clippers' lead to 85-79.

"The guy that beat us was Chris Paul. He had incredible control of the game," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We had a lot of young guys out there, and he found a lot of easy shots and made them. He played spectacular. The last couple of games we got beat by (Kevin) Durant and Paul, and those are two guys who know how to do that."

The Nuggets answered with seven in a row, including three by Al Harrington, to take a 91-89 lead. Paul was 11 of 12 from the line and had nine assists.

From there, the Clippers outscored Denver 14-4 to end the game. Griffin had six points, making four straight free throws, while the Nuggets couldn't hit from outside. Harrington airballed a 3-pointer and missed another one on the ensuing possession. He finished with 11 points.

"We missed shots that we normally make," Harrington said. "I guess I'm in a little bit of a shooting slump, but the only way you can get through that is to be aggressive so I'm going to continue to do that."

Denver didn't make a field goal over the final 7:27.

"We had a game plan for (Paul), but we didn't execute it as well as we would have liked or as well as we did the last time we played them," Harrington said. "He just got wiggle room and made a lot of big shots. He moves so slow, he almost lulls you to sleep. We messed up a little bit on our coverages and gave him enough space to get shots off. He wasn't really getting to the basket that much, but he was making his mid-range shots."

Paul scored the Clippers' final 12 points of the third, when they led 80-79. Denver led by five midway through the period before Griffin and Paul combined to score seven in a row and briefly put the Clippers ahead by two.

The Nuggets led 54-52 at the break, with neither team leading by more than five points in the first half. Hamilton scored 13 points, missing just two of his six field goal attempts, for the Nuggets. Paul scored all of his 13 points in the second quarter for the Clippers.

Notes: Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said F Kenyon Martin's back has been bothering him and he got hit in the ribs in the game. ... Nuggets F-C Nene missed his sixth straight game with a strained left calf. ... Griffin and Paul addressed the fans before the game, with Griffin thanking them for their support during the first half of the season. "We're going to go down to Orlando and try to make you guys proud," Paul added.

Notebook: Clippers 103, Nuggets 95

Posted Thursday February 23, 2012 2:02AM

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: For the first time in franchise history, the Clippers enter the All-Star break alone in first in the Pacific Division after a 103-95 victory Wednesday night against the injury-plagued Nuggets at Staples Center.

THE STAT: Clippers point guard Chris Paul, who took responsibility for his team's previous two losses, didn't allow them to lose three in a row for the first time this season. He scored a season-high 36 points, including 17 straight for the Clippers from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth.

QUOTABLE: "I tried to push the tempo and get some easy baskets tonight."
-- Chris Paul

TURNING POINT: With just over four minutes remaining, Caron Butler hit a fall-away 10-footer to give the Clippers a 93-92 lead. It was the 23rd and final lead change of the game. The Clippers continued on the 8-0 run while the Nuggets didn't convert a field-goal attempt over the final 7:25.

HOT: Paul and Blake Griffin, the first set of Clippers selected to start in an All-Star Game, showed why they'll be playing Sunday in Orlando. Griffin finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists and wore down Al Harrington on the defensive end of the floor ... As for the Nuggets, it was a great night for Arron Afflalo and Jordan Hamilton, who were likely playing in front of a few hometown fans. Afflalo, who grew up in the L.A. area and played for UCLA, finished with a team-high 20 points, his sixth 20-point game in the last nine. Hamilton, a rookie small forward who played for Dorsey High School in L.A. and Dominguez High in Compton, scored a career-high 18 points in his ninth NBA game. Hamilton scored 13 in the first half, helping the Nuggets build a two-point lead.

NOT: What a difference a month makes. Clippers back-up guard Mo Williams is still trying to locate his shot after a blistering month of January. He shot 2-for-16 from the floor and scored six points, his worst shooting night of the season. Williams came in shooting 37.6 percent from the field in 12 games this month. He shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the same number of games in January.

GOOD MOVE: Clippers center DeAndre Jordan picked up his fourth foul with 7:52 remaining in the third quarter. He re-entered for Griffin with 10:06 remaining in the fourth and played smartly down the stretch. He made a lay up off an assist from Griffin with 3:29 remaining, stretching the Clippers lead to three points.

BAD MOVE: The Nuggets might need to locate the injury bug and shoo it out of their locker room. Denver played without three of its top four leading scorers due to injuries. The latest to go on the shelf is starting point guard Ty Lawson, who turned an ankle in the second quarter of an overtime victory Monday against visiting Minnesota and may not be back until after the All-Star break.

QUOTABLE II: "We needed this to get the bad taste out of our mouth ... we didn't play as well as we wanted to, especially in the first half, but in the fourth quarter we came up big."
-- Blake Griffin

NOTABLE: The Clippers lead the Pacific Division by a game over the Lakers. They trailed the Lakers by 16 games at the break a year ago. The Clippers also improved to 20-11 after not winning No. 20 last season until the 52nd game.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Tuesday vs. Minnesota, March 1 @ Sacramento, March 2 @ Phoenix. For the Nuggets, Thursday vs. San Antonio, Wednesday vs. Portland, March 2 @ Houston.

• Nuggets: Nene
• Clippers: Billups

• Nuggets: --
• Clippers: --

• Lead Changes: 23
• Times Tied: 16

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #57 Greg Willard, #52 Scott Twardoski, #40 Leon Wood
• Attendance: 19163
• Duration: 2:20