Five takeaways from the Clippers’ loss to the Nuggets

The Clippers lost to the Nuggets, 123-98, on Saturday night in Denver. Here are five takeaways from the game:

1. DeAndre Jordan went off again, picking up another technical foul.

It was his third technical foul this month. He has 11 overall, the third most in the NBA.

When he was called for the technical foul against the Nuggets in the third quarter, Jordan stood on the sidelines and mockingly clapped at the officials.

The Clippers have said they wanted to cut down on the technical fouls.

“Well, he just got frustrated,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said. “He wants to win just like everybody else. He sees us down 20. It happens.”

He was having a decent outing, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds. But Jordan also had picked up five fouls through three quarters.

And then there was his jostling with Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and the technical foul that ensued.

“Just some paint play” is how Jordan described the action between him and Jokic.

2. Marreese Speights started his first game of the season for the Clippers, but it really didn’t go so well.

Speights had 18 points, but 11 during a fourth quarter in which the Clippers trailed by 35 points.

He had been inserted into the lineup because Blake Griffin (right knee surgery) still is out and because the Nuggets started a big lineup in 6-10 center Jokic and 6-8 power forward Kenneth Faried.

3) Although the Clippers lost by 25 points, they once trailed by as many as 35 points.

Jordan had the best plus/minus, posting a minus-22.

4) If there was a positive from the game, it was that the Clippers took care of the basketball.

They had only nine turnovers in the game.

5) The Clippers were out-rebounded by the Nuggets, 46-35.

The Clippers gave up 11 offensive rebounds, three each to Jokic and Faried.