DENVER, CO—The Los Angeles Clippers lost their second straight game in a 123-98 drubbing to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, January 21.
Austin Rivers scored 16 points and had five rebounds and three assists for the Clippers. Marreese Speights had 18 points, three rebounds and two assists. J.J. Redick and Raymond Felton contributed 14 points each.
According to Rivers, the Clippers must remain confident in every game, despite missing key players.
The Clippers were again without all-stars Chris Paul (hand) and Blake Griffin (knee), who remain out due to injury. They are 2-7 overall when Griffin and Paul do not play.
“I think the biggest thing is we need to compete no matter who is on the floor,” Rivers said after the game. “It doesn’t matter who is out, we’ve just got to compete. I think we did it to start, but after a couple bad things happened to us, we let it mess with us.”
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Danilo Gallinari scored 18 points while Wilson Chandler added 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Will Barton had 18 points and Kenneth Faried contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Denver has won four of its last five games, moving to 18-25 on the season and eighth place in the Western Conference. The Nuggets will host the Utah Jazz in their next game on Tuesday, January 24.
The Clippers are now 29-16 overall and fourth place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles will continue a five-game road trip with a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, January 23.
