Clippers at Nuggets
The Los Angeles Clippers are in the midst of a hot streak and look to
capture their ninth win in 10 games when they visit the Denver Nuggets
on Saturday. Los Angeles is tied for fifth place in the Western
Conference with the San Antonio Spurs and is just two games behind
second-place Houston and Memphis in the bunched-up West.
Denver has lost seven of its last nine games and was routed 123-93 by the Spurs on Friday. Los Angeles will face the Nuggets twice in a 10-day span as it strives for positioning in the playoff race. The teams split two meetings earlier this season prior to Melvin Hunt becoming Denver’s interim coach. The Nuggets are opening a four-game homestand before playing their last two games on the road, while the Clippers follow up the Denver contests with consecutive games against the woeful Los Angeles Lakers.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (50-26): Point guard Chris Paul had his best all-around performance of the season in Wednesday’s win over by Portland by scoring a season-best 41 points and matching a season best of 17 assists. He has been sensational over the last four games by averaging 28.5 points and 10.8 assists, prompting coach Doc Rivers to question why other point guards receive more notoriety. “I don’t take anything (away) from any of the other guards because they’re all good, but he gets overlooked every night,” Rivers told reporters.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (28-48): The defense was nonexistent in the first quarter against San Antonio as the Spurs were 19-of-24 shooting and scored 45 points to set the tone for an easy win. Hunt compared San Antonio’s relentless opening push to a knockout and it was hard to argue with the analogy. “They are like the old Mike Tyson,” Hunt told reporters. “They come out of that corner and they start throwing haymakers early. If you can weather that, you’ll be fine but if you can’t weather it, it’s hard.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers have dropped five straight games in Denver.
2. Denver PF J.J. Hickson (knee) returned against San Antonio after missing the previous game.
3. Los Angeles PF Blake Griffin is averaging 28.3 points on 33-of-57 shooting over the past three contests.