Paul George helps Clippers take revenge game against Nuggets

Field Level Media|published: Thu 7th December, 24:54 2023

Dec 6, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) shoots the ball against Denver Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson (7) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. credits: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Paul George scored 25 points with eight rebounds and James Harden added 20 points with 11 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers got a bit of revenge against the visiting Denver Nuggets with a 111-102 victory Wednesday.

Kawhi Leonard scored 17 points for the Clippers, who defeated the Nuggets nine days after they lost to the Western Conference foe at home. Denver was without stars Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray in the previous game, while all three played Wednesday.

Norman Powell scored 17 points and Ivica Zubac added 10 with nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which defeated the last two NBA champions in succession after coming out on top against the Golden State Warriors 113-112 on Saturday.

Jokic delivered his ninth triple-double of the season with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, but the output came on a rough shooting night when the two-time MVP was 9 of 32 from the field (28.1 percent).

Murray scored 23 points while playing for just the second time in the last 15 games because of hamstring and ankle injuries. Michael Porter Jr. scored 18 points and Reggie Jackson had 14 for the Nuggets, who have lost consecutive games after a four-game winning streak.

The Nuggets led 82-79 heading into the fourth quarter, with the Clippers up 92-91 with 6:17 remaining after Jokic made a pair of free throws. Harden and Leonard then combined for 11 consecutive Clippers points to put Los Angeles up 103-97 with 1:48 remaining.

The Clippers put the game away with a late 6-0 scoring burst to take a 107-97 lead with 38.1 seconds remaining.

Former Clippers DeAndre Jordan and Jackson combined to score 18 points for the Nuggets after they combined for 56 during last week's matchup at Los Angeles.

The Nuggets were hot from distance early, making 8 of 10 from 3-point range to lead 36-21 after one quarter after going up by as many as 15 in the opening period. Denver then missed all seven of its 3-point attempts in the second quarter as the Clippers rallied to take a 61-57 lead at the break.

—Field Level Media

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