Clippers’ five takeaways from loss to Denver Nuggets
Takeaways from the Clippers’ 129-114 loss Thursday to the Denver Nuggets.
1. The three-guard lineup the Clippers used against Denver was powerful in how effective and efficient Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and Austin Rivers were in trying to combat the Nuggets. That threesome combined to score half of the Clippers’ 114 points. They combined to shoot 23-for-34 from the field, nine-for-15 from three-point range.
Redick led the way, scoring 22 points, missing just two of his eight shots in the process and going four-for-six from three-point range.
Paul had 18 points on eight-for-12 shooting, two-for-three on three-pointers.
Rivers, who started at forward in place of Blake Griffin (rest), had 17 points on seven-for-12 shooting, three-for-six on three-pointers.
2. Jamal Crawford keeps climbing up the NBA’s all-time scoring list. After scoring just three points against the Nuggets, Crawford now has 17,912 points over his 17-year career. He moved pass Chris Mullin (17,911 points) for No. 71 on the all-time scoring leaderboard.
3. Paul Piece hadn’t stepped on the court for a game since the Clippers played at Boston on Feb. 5. But he got to play against the Nuggets because the Clippers were shorthanded with Griffin and DeAndre Jordan both home in Los Angeles resting.
It wasn’t so much the five points and four rebounds in 16 minutes, 22 seconds that stood out for Paul.
But it was where those numbers placed the 19-year veteran in the NBA history books.
He became one of 10 players in NBA history with 25,000-plus points (26,369), 7,500-plus rebounds (7,501) and 4,000-plus assists (4,700).
4. Rookie Brice Johnson finally got some playing time. Johnson, who missed 56 games recovering from an injured back, played 3:41. He had two points, one rebound and one blocked shot.
They were the first two points of his NBA career.
5. The Clippers turned the ball over just nine times. They even shot 52.4% from the field, 50% from three-point range. But they still lost by 15 points because of porous defense.
Besides giving up 129 points, the Clippers saw the Nuggets make 53.5% of their shots, 53.6% of their three-pointers.
Twitter: @BA_Turner
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
