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 "We don't care about the streak at all," Clippers forward Blake
Griffin said. "We're trying to get ready for the playoffs. It's not
about the streak; it's about how we're playing."
On Monday, they didn't play well, and the Denver Nuggets took
advantage.
Forward Kenneth Faried scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds,
guard Ty Lawson added 19 points, and Denver stopped the Clippers'
11-game winning streak with a 110-100 victory.
Nuggets forward J.J. Hickson contributed 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Los Angeles guard Chris Paul had 29 points and seven assists.
Griffin finished with 26 points, on 7-of-25 shooting, and 12
rebounds.
"You know what I told Blake? I don't care," Clippers coach Doc
Rivers said. "I don't mind if he goes 7-for-40. Just keep shooting
and play with confidence."
The Clippers were playing with confidence, but for the second
consecutive season, they saw a hot streak end in Denver. Last year,
they came to town riding a franchise-best, 17-game streak only to
lose by 14 on Jan. 1.
On Monday, the Clippers were playing their second game in as many
days, and that, coupled with injuries to key players, put them at a
disadvantage against Denver.
It also didn't help them that the Nuggets seem to rise up when
playing better teams. They beat the defending champion Heat in Miami
on Friday.
"We usually play great against the top-tier teams in the league,"
Hickson said. "I would assume most of our wins are against teams
that are above .500 and in the playoff race."
This one was up for grabs, but Lawson was the difference down the
stretch. He started things with a 3-pointer from the wing, then drew
a foul on Paul for a three-point play and a 102-98 lead.
Later, Lawson drove the lane and kicked out to guard Randy Foye, who
drained a 3-pointer to give Denver a 107-100 lead with 2:35
remaining.
Foye finished with 14 points, and all five Denver starters scored in
double figures.
Both teams traded misses before Lawson iced the game with two free
throws with 49 seconds left.
"Overall, I was really happy," Rivers said. "I thought we had a
shot. That's all you can ask for." The Clippers' 11-game winning
streak was the second longest in franchise history, and it pushed
them into contention for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
[to top of second column] |
Late last season, the Nuggets team won 15 in a row. This Denver team
hasn't found a similar rhythm. Denver's longest win streak this
season is seven games, and that happened four months ago. The
Nuggets (30-37) are lottery-bound while Los Angeles (48-21) aims to
improve on last year's first-round playoff exit against the Memphis
Grizzlies.
Still, an impressive win against a top-three team in the West shows
the Nuggets might not be far away from returning to the postseason.
"Our last two victories, against the caliber of competition we were
playing against, showed we can play with anybody," Nuggets coach
Brian Shaw said. "What we've got to strive for is consistency."
The Clippers had a playoff swagger Monday, but the Nuggets fought
back. In the second quarter, Faried got tangled with Griffin and
fell to the floor while going up for a rebound. Faried was called
for a foul despite replays showing Griffin pulled down Faried.
Later in the second, Faried was hit with a technical foul.
The Nuggets fed off the physical play and led by as many as seven.
The Clippers, behind Paul's 14 second-quarter points, cut the
deficit to 56-53 at halftime.
"I was happy at halftime to be down by only three," Rivers said.
NOTES: The Nuggets honored their 1993-94 team before the opening tip
and at halftime. The Denver squad from 20 years ago, seeded eighth
in the Western Conference playoffs, was the first team in NBA
history to beat a No. 1 seed. The Nuggets wore throwback uniforms
for the occasion. ... Clippers G Chris Paul is four assists shy of
6,000 for his career. ... In Saturday's loss at Atlanta, the Nuggets
allowed 97 points. It was the first time they held an opponent to
fewer than 100 points in 13 games. ... The Clippers have three
double-digit winning streaks in franchise history, two of them in
the past two seasons.
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