Faried has 21 points and 11 rebounds as Nuggets beat Clippers 87-81
Kenneth Faried had 21 points (18 in the paint) and 11 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets beat the LA Clippers 87-81.
The Nuggets took control with a 22-3 run bridging the second and third quarters and led by as many as 16.
The Clippers got within 82-80 on Jeff Green’s hook shot with 2:26 to play, but Gary Harris answered with a 30-foot 3-pointer, and the Clippers got no closer than 85-81.
Emmanuel Mudiay’s 2 free throws with 25.5 seconds left made it 87-81 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Nuggets outscored the Clippers 7-6. Late in the fourth quarter, Chris Paul had 2 of his 4 steals, 1 of them during an 8-0 Clippers run, and the Clippers scored 4 points off them.
For the Clippers, JJ Redick scored 20 points (9 in the first quarter) with 6 3-pointers, and Wesley Johnson went 1 for 7 from 3. Jamal Crawford scored 20 points off the bench. Paul had 17 points, 10 assists and 4 steals.
The Nuggets grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to the Clippers’ 9, held them to 81 points and outscored them 44-22 in the paint.