On January 9, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Clippers challenged the Nuggets away today. The two sides are absent from the lineup today, and the Clippers are: Christie, Flowers, Kay Jones, Leonard, Tucker; For the Nuggets: Jokic, Chanchar, Gordon, Hall, Holmes, Spencer-Jones. Leonard's absence was due to the Los Angeles wildfires, and he temporarily left the team to assist in the evacuation of his family. Although the Nuggets were out of the game, Wei Shao, Murray and Porter fired three big shots and knocked out the Clippers at halftime. In the end, the Nuggets beat the Clippers 126-103.
Technical Statistics:
Nuggets: Braun 15 points, Porter 19 points and 8 rebounds, Jordan Jr. 12 points and 9 rebounds, Murray 21 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists, Strawser 16 points and 4 rebounds, Westbrook 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists
Clippers: Powell 30 points and 4 rebounds, Zubac 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, Harden 16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, Porter Jr. 10 points
At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, Murray broke through and threw a shot 2+1, and Powell responded with a long-range shot at the top of the arc. Braun faced Zubac and hit an easy three-pointer, and the Clippers immediately completed the comeback with two counterattacks. Braun and Murray took turns firing, and Batum hit back with a knife in hand. Murray and Porter combined to go on a 7-0 run, and Powell made a three-pointer to help the Clippers stop the bleeding. The Nuggets went on offense, with a wave of small surges extending the margin to double digits. Then Willis and Strauser hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Nuggets a 33-19 lead to end the first quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Watson broke the deadlock with a back dunk, and the Clippers made consecutive free throws to try to chase the score. The Nuggets continued to extend their lead with a rain of three-pointers from the outside, and with Braun's 2+1 shot, the difference between the two sides expanded to more than 20 points. Strawther had another barrage from the outside, and the Clippers were about to be beaten at halftime. At critical moments, Jones, Powell, and Harden regained their touch one after another, and the Clippers played a wave of 10-0. After that, the two sides were not shocked, and the difference between the two sides remained around 15 points. At the end of the quarter, Wei Shao counterattacked to foul and hit 1 of 2 free throws. At halftime, the Nuggets led the Clippers 66-50.
Yibian fought again, Porter came up and hit another three-pointer, and the Nuggets quickly expanded the difference to more than 20 points. Coming back from a timeout, Harden made a free throw to stop the bleeding, and Porter continued to respond with a three-pointer. Wei Shao broke through to recreate 2+1, and Watson stopped the Clippers again with a slam dunk. After the timeout, Jordan Jr. made an empty basket, and Wei Shao made a layup to continue to expand the difference. At the end of the quarter, the Clippers woke up like a dream, and a wave of 8-1 narrowed the gap to 77-98, and the Nuggets still lead.
At the beginning of the final quarter, the Nuggets started the game with another long-range shot, and Murray hit a three-pointer with a knife. The Nuggets had no intention of relaxing, they just wanted to cut through the mess quickly and quickly knock the opponent to the ground. Waters and Strauser's back-to-back attacks sent the gap straight to 30 points. After taking the lead by a large score, the Nuggets got off the main lineup early, and the Clippers also dropped the main team and disarmed directly. In the end, the Nuggets beat the Clippers 126-103.
Both starters:
Clippers: Harden, Dunn, Powell, Jones, Zubac
Nuggets: Murray, Westbrook, Braun, Porter, Jordan Jr