The LA Clippers made another statement in their second game of the season and prevailed convincingly with 121: 108 against the Denver Nuggets. The victory was overshadowed by a facial injury at Kawhi Leonard.
Denver Nuggets (0-2) – L.A. Clippers (2-0) 121:108
Leonard, who had scored 21 points (8/14 FG) up to this point, was hit with his elbow on the jaw by teammate Serge Ibaka’s elbow in the fourth quarter while fighting for the rebound. After he had to be treated on the floor covered in blood for several minutes, he left the hall on his own and never returned.
Head coach Tyronn Lue then gave the all-clear and stated that Leonard would be “okay”. This had to be sewn with eight stitches in the mouth immediately after he left, where he sustained a flesh wound. A specific downtime and whether the jawbone may also have been affected is not yet known.
From a sporting point of view, the Clippers’ revenge for the second round in the playoffs was never really in danger. Led by Paul George, the Californians laid the foundation stone with a towering second quarter. At 40:29 this went to the Clippers, Denver was unable to recover from the 17-point deficit at break.
With 23 points (8/14 FG, 5/9 3FG), George was the best points collector of the guests and also had 9 assists (but also 6 turnover). The performances of the newcomers Nicolas Batum (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Ibaka (15, 6/9 FG) were also convincing. Particularly impressive: the Clippers Ball Movement. Already at the break, 21 hits preceded 18 assists, in the end it was 32 of 41.
Combined with excellent accuracy from a distance (19/38, 50 percent – from the field 55.4 percent), this was too much for the nuggets, who sank only 30.6 percent (11/36) from the perimeter, eight attempts left on the line and were inferior in rebounding (32:38).
Clippers pull away from Nuggets in the second quarter
It didn’t help that they took better care of the ball (13:18 turnover). The best Nuggets player was Nikola Jokic, who narrowly missed a triple-double (24 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds). The long pale Jamal Murray scored 23 points (9/20 FG, 4/11 3FG), Michael Porter Jr. (10) as well as Will Barton (15) and Monte Morris (13) from the bench also scored double digits. Isaiah Hartenstein was allowed to play ten minutes and used this for 6 points and 5 rebounds.
As in the win against the Lakers, the Clippers started with Patrick Beverley, George, Leonard, Batum and Ibaka, the Nuggets relied on Murray, Gary Harris, Porter Jr., Paul Millsap and Jokic. The game began in disarray, with three of Batum’s and George countering Porter. With a 7-0 run, LA took the lead and did not give it up until the end of the first quarter. Nine guest players already had points in their account, Jokic had 10 points. 32:26.
A 6-0 run by the Californians at the beginning of the second section enabled a double-digit lead, the Clippers had at this point converted 9 of 13 threesomes. Hartenstein helped with four points from the Nuggets bank, but apart from Jokic and Porter there was far too little. Even a nice behind-the-back pass from Harris didn’t help. A three-point Leonard put on +16, at break it was 72:55.
Clippers win never in danger – concerns about Kawhi
The Clippers’ dominance continued into the second half. With several defensive breakdowns, the Nuggets LA invited to easy points, while their own attacking game ended with many bad throws. Murray only sank his second litter in the middle of the third quarter, George and Leonard had the right answer ready, Batum neutralized a Millsap threesome.
After PG-13 had placed his fifth distance throw in the basket, it went with a 19-point lead in the final quarter. The Nuggets opened this with a 6-0 run and briefly drew hope. From the following break, the Clippers came back with a Kawhi jumper and an Ibaka block.
But Denver countered: Murray was suddenly hot and scored 10 points within minutes. After Leonard’s injury shock, Ibaka calmed the Clippers’ nerves with a threesome, the lead increased to 14 points and was no longer in danger. The Nuggets are still without a win after two games of the season, the Clippers will meet the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday evening (live on DAZN from 9.30 p.m.).
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