Clippers 112, Nuggets 91
Jamal Crawford scored 27 points and made six 3-pointers while Blake Griffin had 24 points and 16 rebounds as host Los Angeles defeated Denver.
Matt Barnes added 13 points off the bench after missing the previous 16 games with an eye injury. Darren Collison also scored 13 points and Chris Paul contributed 10 points and 11 assists as the Clippers won their fourth straight game.
Wilson Chandler scored 19 points and Timofey Mozgov added 15 for the Nuggets, who lost their third straight game. Ty Lawson had 13 points for Denver, which shot just 35.2 percent from the field.
The Clippers opened up a 44-27 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter and led comfortably over the final 27-plus minutes. The halftime score was 56-43 and Los Angeles took a 19-point lead into the final stanza.
Barnes’ 3-pointer gave the Clippers an 87-64 lead early in the fourth. The Nuggets were within 14 midway through the quarter before Griffin hit four straight free throws and Crawford hit a jumper to push the advantage back to 20 with 4:47 to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Clippers C DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds and has been in double digits on the boards in 12 of the last 13 games. … Nuggets PF Kenneth Faried played just three minutes after injuring an ankle in the opening quarter. … Los Angeles was 13-of-33 from 3-point range while Denver was 6-of-30.