Clippers at Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are hot at a good point in the season and they look for their fourth consecutive win and eighth in the past 11 games when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. Denver, which hasn't been part of the postseason since a 57-win campaign under George Karl in 2012-13, holds a two-game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
The Nuggets will be shorthanded against the Clippers as forwards Danilo Gallinari (knee), Wilson Chandler (groin) and Darrell Arthur (rest) will all miss the contest. Power forward Kenneth Faried (back) returned to practice Wednesday after missing the previous nine games and is listed as questionable. Los Angeles also will be without key players as coach Doc Rivers kept power forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan home to rest with Saturday's home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers looming on the agenda. The Clippers are three games behind the fourth-place Utah Jazz in the West after suffering a 97-96 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (40-28): The absences of Griffin and Jordan will open up playing time for nearly everyone on the roster and that might not be a bad thing in the mind of Rivers. "Young players have to be taught how to win," Rivers told reporters after the loss to the Bucks. "They know how to play. They haven't figured out how to do it and win at the same time." Point guard Chris Paul will aim to bounce back from a poor showing against Milwaukee when he tallied just six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (32-35): Swingman Will Barton scored 22 points in Monday's 129-101 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers after suffering through a stretch of five straight single-digit outings. Barton's play was so shaky that Denver coach Michael Malone called Barton aside for a deep conversation about the string of poor performances. "It helped me a lot," Barton told reporters. "Anytime I have trust in my coaching staff and they believe in me and tell me I'm a big part of this team (and) they need me to play well, it does a lot for my confidence. I was overthinking a lot."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nuggets are 2-1 against the Clippers this season, including a 123-98 home win on Jan. 21.
2. Los Angeles SG J.J. Redick hasn't made more than two 3-pointers in any of nine March games.
3. Denver C Nikola Jokic recorded 18 points and nine rebounds against the Lakers to fall one board shy of his seventh straight double-double.