LOS ANGELES (AP) – Amir Coffey had 18 points, Reggie Jackson scored 11 of his 13 in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers gathered from a 25-point deficit in the second half to a stunning 87-85 victory over the Denver Nuggets Tuesday night.
Terance Mann scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles, which won for the fourth time in 10 games since Paul George joined Kawhi Leonard on his long list of injuries. The Clippers won despite managing to manage a paltry 28 points in the lowest-scoring first half of the NBA this season, and then trailed 59-34 midway through the third period.
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Denver scored just seven points in the next 10 minutes, allowing the Clippers to make their unlikely comeback. Los Angeles equalized on Jackson’s jumper with 7:03 to play and went on with Jackson’s 3-pointer moments later.
Nikola Jokic got back-to-back buckets to bring Denver back to the top, but Coffey’s 3-pointer with 2:30 left pushed the Clippers ahead forever. Nicolas Batum hit a 3 on the next ball possession and Jokic missed a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
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Aaron Gordon scored 30 points this season, and Jokic had 21 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, who could not overcome a long stretch of incompetence that spanned the last two quarters. Gordon made 11 of his 16 shots in his highest-scoring performance since joining the Nuggets in March last year, but Jokic hit just three shots in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers ‘supportive cast got a huge boost to their quest to keep pace in the Western Conference race without both teams’ cornerstones. George is still at least three weeks away from his return from elbow surgery, and Leonard is still recovering from knee surgery.
The Clippers also played without Luke Kennard and Justise Winslow, who are in the NBA’s health and safety records.
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The Clippers’ awful 28-point first half was their worst offensive performance since the first half of a 51-point loss to Dallas just over a year ago. The Nuggets were not much better and missed 14 of their 16 3-point attempts before the break. After the Clippers dropped 25, they made a 21-3 run for the next six minutes to keep it close.
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