Fans of the Los Angeles Clippers may not forget that in the game against the Denver Nuggets, without the three cores of Jokic, Murray and Gordon, the Big Four were beaten by Reggie and Jordan Jr. Tyronn Lue had nothing to do, the double wrap around Reggie, and the tactics of slashing Jordan Jr. were somewhat unbelievable. But even so, the Los Angeles Clippers eventually lost the game and fought in disgrace. In this game, the Los Angeles Clippers welcomed the challenge of the Denver Nuggets at home, which is undoubtedly a battle for revenge.
Unlike the last meeting, the Nuggets welcomed back Jokic, Murray and Gordon, and the team played with an all-out roster, you know, this is the defending champion team. Against such a team, it is undoubtedly the most difficult to test the true level of the Clippers' Big Four. If the Clippers can beat the Nuggets, then they can shatter the doubts.
At the beginning of the first quarter, the Nuggets dominated the game, Porter Jr. scored 11 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block, Jokic had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, the team shot 8 of 10 three-pointers, and scored 36 points in a single quarter, while the Clippers only scored 21 points, of which Leonard had 6 points and 2 assists. After returning from the game in the second quarter, Harden began to take over the game, scoring 9 points, 6 assists and 2 steals in a single quarter, successfully connecting the team's offense, Powell got 11 points and 1 rebound, Theis also had 8 points and 4 rebounds, George 7 points and 3 rebounds, and the team scored 40 points in a single quarter.
The Nuggets fell into a scoring drought, Jokic made a rare 2-of-7 shooting, with only 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, while Murray had 5 points and 3 assists, and the team only scored 21 points in a single quarter, and at halftime, the Clippers led the Nuggets by 4 points 61-57. In the second half, the Clippers felt less comfortable, and George Jr. teamed up to score 12 points, but the team only scored 18 points. Jokic got 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, Porter Jr. had 7 points and 3 rebounds, and Murray also had 8 points, 2 assists and 1 steal.
In the final quarter of the game, Wei Shao began to speed up with the second lineup to help the Clippers overtake the score. Then Wei Shao went off the court, and the score of the two teams was deadlocked, Harden hit a key three-pointer, and then a steal and assist Leonard dunk with one arm to stretch the difference to 6 points. Jokic threw to stabilize the situation, Harden responded with a jumper, Murray also had an arrow on horseback, Leonard continued to shoot in the middle, Pope missed a key three-pointer, and Jokic could only foul. In the end, the Los Angeles Clippers managed to defeat the Denver Nuggets 111-102.
The Los Angeles Clippers upset the Denver Nuggets and successfully completed their revenge, and Harden showed his ability, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range, and a double-double of 20 points, 1 rebound, 11 assists, plus 3 steals. George had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist, Leonard also had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists on 8-of-16 shooting, Powell on the bench had 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and Theis had 8 points and 11 rebounds. Wei Shao only played 16 minutes, and also had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist on 4-of-8 shooting, plus 2 blocks, which also provided enough help to the team.
Tyronn Lue found a way to start staggering the playing time of Harden and Wei Shao, this game, basically Harden was on the court, Wei Shao was resting off the court, Wei Shao was on the court, Harden was resting off the court, the two had two completely different styles, but both helped the team. On the Nuggets' side, Jokic had a triple-double of 22 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, but his shooting percentage was only 9 of 32, setting a career record of 23 times in a single game. Murray had 23 points and 6 assists, Porter Jr. had 18 points and 9 rebounds, and Reggie had 14 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists.