LAS VEGAS, July 8 -- It only took one quarter of play Sunday night for the Denver Nuggets to take hold of their 108-104 contest against the Los Angeles Clippers in NBA Summer League action, although it was tough to maintain the lead down the stretch. The Nuggets staked themselves to a 29-point advantage just out of half-time on a dunk by Von Wafer. The lead was enough to stave off a come back attempt by the Clippers, as Los Angeles pulled within four points at games end.

The game was a tale of two halves, as Denver scored 30 or more points in each of the first two quarters, while Los Angeles did the same in the third and fourth frames.

The Nuggets had a strong offensive showing from not only their starting five, but their bench, as well. Four of the five starters broke double-digits in the scoring department, while being joined by Curtis Sumpter off of the bench.

Denver’s Jelani McCoy and Los Angeles’ Paul Davis put down the Summer League’s first double-double efforts in the contest. McCoy had 14 points (7-8 FG) and 13 rebounds compared to Davis’ 18 points (7-16 FG) and 11 boards.

Lamond Murray was the top scorer for Denver with 17 points (6-9 FG) and was closely followed by Sumpter’s 16 and Nikoloz Tskitishvili’s 13.

Los Angeles’ Al Thornton, the 14th round pick from the 2007 NBA Draft, led all scorers with a 24-point outburst in his first action as a professional. Thornton went 7-18 from the field and 10-14 at the charity stripe. Defensively, the forward pulled down eight boards, as well.

“Coming out in my first game tonight, it was very physical and more fatiguing than college,” Thornton said of his first game. “Overall I think I played pretty good and I hope to build upon that.”

The Clippers received a good showing from Guillermo Diaz and Mohamed Abukar. Diaz had 15 points (7-16 FG), while Abukar had 19 (7-11 FG).

NOTES: Nuggets’ center Marcus Camby watched from behind the Nuggets bench.