LOS ANGELES — In three of the Nuggets’ past four wins, opponents arrived in Denver gift-wrapped, fatigued after playing the night before. But, for a change, it was the Nuggets playing the second game of back-to-back set Wednesday while on the road. And they fit the part.
Against the Los Angeles Clippers (6-4), the Nuggets sputtered, trailing from halfway in the second quarter until the final buzzer, losing 101-90, their first loss since Nov. 7 at Boston.
“We didn’t play together enough, we didn’t pass well enough,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “Our offense slapped us around. We hurt ourselves with our shot selection and our lack of attacking the defense with ball movement.”
The Nuggets’ performance was even more disheartening, knowing that the Clippers were without, well, everyone.
Leading scorer Corey Maggette was out with a strained hamstring, while Shaun Livingston (leg) and all-star Elton Brand (Achilles) are out until 2008. Moreover, guard Sam Cassell played only 14 minutes and starting point guard Brevin Knight strained his groin in the third quarter.
This opened the door for Dan Dickau and Paul Davis, who average less than 10 minutes per game, but logged double-digit minutes in the first half.
The Clippers weathered the storm, and rookie Al Thornton, who had never started a game, erupted like it was a Florida State early-season nonconference game. The former Seminole scored 12 points with nine rebounds, compared to his averages of 5.4 and 2.8.
Before the game, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy was asked how he would like to defend the Nuggets, and he said, “You’d like to slow them down.” That has been tough for so many teams this season. But, with a drained Nuggets squad and pesky defense, the Clippers held the Nuggets to 35.6 percent shooting in the first half, 39.1 on the night. Iverson led Denver with 29 points. Starting forward Kenyon Martin went scoreless in 23 minutes.
The Nuggets (8-4) finally showed signs of grit with 8:16 left in the third, when Anthony caught a pass in front of the Clippers bench and launched a 3-pointer, while Ruben Patterson fouled him. As Anthony hit the floor, the shot hit the bottom of the net. Anthony also hit the free throw and the Clippers lead was down to four, 57-53. But by the end of the third, the Nuggets lost focus and were down 11, their biggest deficit to that point.
“I was actually telling him after the shot, ‘Way to get us started,’ ” Iverson said. “But, obviously, it wasn’t enough. We were trying to fight back the whole game, and we used so much energy trying to get back in the game, and then one or two plays they just made it tough down the stretch.”
For Clippers center Chris Kaman, there has not been any Samson effect after he cut his floppy long hair this offseason. Kaman had his seventh double-double of the season by halftime — 11 points, 11 rebounds — and finished with 17 and 21.
His sparring partner, Denver center Marcus Camby, erupted with 10 points in the first quarter. He finished with 18, while notching 18 of the Nuggets’ 40 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Clippers totaled 50.
The Nuggets six-game win streak, which had been nothing short of dominant, is over. The stretch, which began the game after the embarrassing loss at Boston, featured five double-digit wins and a 20.8 average margin of victory.
50-40
The Clippers outrebounded the Nuggets handily Wednesday night. That was surprising because Los Angeles has a short-handed frontcourt and Denver is fifth in the NBA in rebounding.
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
With 10:18 left in the fourth quarter, Nuggets reserve forward Linas Kleiza left the game with a sprained left ankle. He is questionable for Friday’s game.
Final thought
This was a beatable Clippers team, but the Nuggets ran out of gas and magic, and their win streak is over.
Up next
vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m., Friday.
