Paul George had one of his best games of the season, scoring 35. James Harden looked like he had his legs under him and played his best game as a Clipper scoring 21.
That was enough to give the Clippers a chance against the class of the West — the Denver Nuggets — and George had a shot to tie the game and force overtime, but he put up the rare 3-pointer wedgie.
Denver held on for the 111-108 win. The Clippers have lost six straight and fall to 3-7 on the season.
There were positives for the Clippers, starting with Harden looking sharper, more comfortable and like he’s playing his way into shape. Then there is the fact the struggling starting five — Russell Westbrook, Harden, George, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac — was +3 in more than 11 minutes on the floor. The team shooting 44.8% from 3 on the night is another good sign.
However, Denver remains a tough matchup for Los Angeles and Tyronn Lue went small at stretches in the fourth — Denver scored 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting in the paint in the fourth because Jokic punishes any team that dares to go small on him (the Nuggets won the points in the paint battle 58-34). Jokic finished the game with 32 points on 8-of-23 shooting, with 16 rebounds and nine assists — he said it was an off game for him, but he would take the win.
Which was aided by a wedgie.