Short-handed Clippers fall to Nuggets

26/11/2022 08:17

LOS ANGELES — For a second consecutive game, the Clippers played without their two stars, three if you toss in guard Luke Kennard. And for the umpteenth time this season, Coach Tyronn Lue was asked more about who’s not playing for the Clippers than who is on the floor. Lue should expect more questions as the trio of Kawhi Leonard (ankle sprain), Paul George (hamstring strain) and Kennard (calf strain) already have all been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Indiana with no return date in sight. Leonard missed his second straight game Friday, while George missed his third straight and Kennard has been out for the last four. “I mean, it’s part of the game,” Lue said. “We’re not the only team who’s going through it and so, it is what it is. The guys are getting better, they’re progressing pretty well and that’s all we can worry about. We have to worry about tonight.” There was plenty of concern to go around Friday night against Denver, starting with two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, who had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to lead the Nuggets to a 114-104 victory. Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon contributed to the Clippers’ misery with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting. There also was Jamal Murray’s unrelenting defense on Norman Powell, who couldn’t shake free to make much of a difference offensively. There was Ivica Zubac, who couldn’t stop Jokic and failed to do much in the paint. He had nine rebounds and six points. The Nuggets came into the game as one of the worst interior defensive teams in the league and gave up 42 points in the paint. But the Clippers, fourth in the league in defended field goal percentage inside of six feet, allowed the Nuggets to score 52 points in the paint. John Wall, who scored a season-high 23 points, tried to salvage the night for the Clippers in the fourth quarter. He drove the lane to cut the Nuggets’ lead to 89-82, but back-to-back baskets by Vlatko Cancar put Denver back up, 94-82. “Our guys are scrapping, they’re playing hard, they’re trying to hold the fort down and it’s tough right now,” Lue said. “But it is what it is because we’re not the only team going through it and it’s just part of the league right now. So, we have to focus on ourselves.” And then there was the 51.6% free-throw shooting and 14 turnovers. Lue said the margin of the Clippers winning without their big two narrows with each turnover. Related Articles Clippers | Clippers center Ivica Zubac plays with confidence and lofty goals in mind Clippers | Short-handed Clippers can’t slow Andrew Wiggins, Warriors Clippers | Clippers coach Tyronn Lue thinks Norman Powell can win Sixth Man of the Year Clippers | Norman Powell, Reggie Jackson propel Clippers past Jazz Clippers | Clippers’ Reggie Jackson, John Wall a willing, winning combo “That’s been our Achilles’ heel this year, just turning the ball over,” Lue said. “If we take care of the basketball, we can get good shots and we can score more points. You can’t have 19, 20 turnovers and expect to score the basketball and so that’s our biggest thing.” While the Clippers did not turn the ball over at all in the third quarter, they committed two consecutive turnovers with 6:54 left in the game which gave Denver a 17-point lead. The 11 turnovers they had in the opening half enabled the Nuggets to springboard to a 64-57 halftime lead. Lue called a timeout with 3:22 left in the first quarter after the Nuggets capitalized on the Clippers’ miscues resulting in a 9-0 run. The Clippers had five turnovers that the Nuggets turned into 11 points and led by nine at the end of the quarter. Lue said before the game that the team needed to take care of the ball to have a shot at winning. The Clippers cut down the turnovers as the first half went on and managed to keep the game within reach, trimming the lead to six at 48-42. But that was as good as it got for the Clippers in the first half. More to come on this story.