The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 102-94 in a rematch of last year’s playoff contest – with several new faces on each team. Aaron Gordon led all scorers with 18, Nikola Jokic added 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in 22 minutes, and the Clippers were led by Kawhi Leonard with 17 and Brook Lopez with 15. Both teams treated the first half more like a dress rehearsal for the real thing rather than just walking through a regular pre-season game, and that made it far more competitive than more early-October games get. It was good for Denver to come out with the win, but also to see how they match up and how they are improving on both ends as they aim toward the start of the regular season.

Game Flow

The game started with play-clock issues that forced both teams back to the benches multiple times, but with time kept by stopwatch to start Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon each missed threes for Denver. The Clippers put up 6 early points including a Kawhi Leonard transition finish, but AG got the first bucket for Denver under the rim. Ivica Zubac got a dunk-and-one for LA, Jokic finished a nice double-high-post slip for a layup, and then Joker clanked another 3. AG got free throw, Jamal Murray drew an offensive foul on Collins, and Jokic finished at the rim to make it 11-8 Los Angeles. James Harden and Christian Braun traded threes, and Gordon made one-of-two on a clear path foul then buried a no-look Joker pass for a three and a 17-16 Denver lead. Denver slipped into a zone on defense but missed a couple of shots on offense. Kris Dunn hit a corner 3 for LA, Braun hit one from the top of the arc, and AG hit a turnaround as the teams traded the lead. Tim Hardaway Jr. grabbed a steal and fed Cam Johnson for a transition bucket and Brook Lopez buried a three to answer. Jonas Valaciunas came in for Jokic with 3 minutes left and immediately got a bucket, Lopez hit another pair of threes. Murray hit a three of his own but the Clippers ended the quarter up 32-31.

Murray had a terrific dump-off to Watson for a floater at the start of the second, but then Jamal got forced into a turnover by Kawhi. Watson buried a three, Val drew an offensive foul on what would have been a breakaway for the Clips, and then Val finished in the paint to get Denver to 38-36. Lopez hit a jumper, Val dunked in reply, and Bruce Brown absolutely shuts down Collins on the block. Jokic came back in and Valanciunas stayed in to give Denver two seven-footers on the floor. Strawther missed a shot but Jokic got a defensive rebound and pushed the ball to Watson for a finish and the Denver lead. Jokic then hit a nice elbow jumper while Zubac kept attacking inside on the other end against Denver’s big lineup. Jokic swished a floater, Kawhi hit an elbow jumper, and Cam Johnson missed a three. Kawhi drew a foul on Cam to get to the line, but Cam answered the other way with a corner three. Zubac finished at the rim, Jokic kicked off a transition that ended with a Braun-assisted AG dunk, and then Jokic got a block on the other end. Jokic threw a no-look to Gordon who got fouled but made both shots, then AG assisted a Jokic drive to make it 54-48 Denver. Cam and Hardaway each missed threes for the Nuggets, and a Murray turnover led to the tie. Some poor passes and defense gave the Clips a 5 point lead, and despite Gordon banking in a three the Nuggets trailed 61-59 at halftime.

Denver forced a turnover to start the second half, but Cam Johnson missed the corner 3. Harden drew free throws but Jamal Murray went the length of the court for a layup. Murray missed a 3 the next time but Jokic rebounded and screened Cal open for a made 3. Braun and John Collins exchanged threes, and Jokic had a nice soft paint finish. CB ran a wonderful curl-and-dish to Big Val for the finish, then turned the ball over the next time on a misunderstanding. AG beat the shot clock one time down, then butchered a lob-attempt to Braun that they both laughed about as Adelman starter pulling his starters. Denver’s reserves came in cold and struggled to score until Val made a paint bucket to tie it at 75. Spencer Jones played some great defense and then got a rebound as the quarter closed, and Denver ended with the lead, 76-75.

Both teams continued to be cold from the field to start the final frame until Jordan Miller made a layup for the Clippers. Valanciunas got called for his fifth foul, repaid by Brook Lopez on the other end. Julian Strawther dribbled through the paint and out to the corner for a nice three, Watson had a turnover, then Julian made another three and looked in-rhythm. Spencer Jones flashed more good defense, but Miller hit a three for LA to tie it again at 82. Zeke Nnaji had a couple of bad sequences where he got stuffed at the rim, then missed a bucket on a pick and roll and threw a turnover torward his own hoop the next time down. DaRon Holmes and Curtis Jones came in, and Curtis missed a three. Jalen Pickett nailed a deep 3 from the top of the key, Kobe Brown hit a bucket for LA. Pickett made a layup, but the Clippers still led 90-87 with 4 minutes to go. Curtis Jones made a pair of threes, then buried another to give Denver the 96-94 lead with 90 seconds to go. Nnaji assisted Holmes then grabbed a free throw rebound in the final seconds to get himself to the line and Denver won the game 102-94.

Final Thoughts

– The starters looked really good. Jamal Murray didn’t have his best game but was still running some nice pick-and-rolls with Joker. AG and Christian Braun both brought the right intensity on both sides (even though both Cam Johnson and Gordon missed CB for oop dunks) and Cam worked on getting to his spots and using Jokic screens and passes to get himself going. Jokic had some mid-season touch and got his work in, but also ran the court like it was a regular season game. We even saw some twin-towers with Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas on the court together, and Denver also tested out their zone a few times. It was great to see them showing off the hard work from the preseason practice

– There were some changes in the reserve rotation. Spencer Jones got more play early in the fourth as one of the first guys off the bench and it paid off immediately with his excellent defensive effort. Curtis Jones came in late and made several threes while running some point guard. DaRon Holmes came in later with Zeke Nnaji still ahead of him in the rotation, but coach David Adelman is obviously experimenting with his lineup against the size of the Clippers and taking a look at his options for the season. Spencer Jones passed that audition with flying colors tonight, which puts him in line for some longer looks or early callups from the G League when they need that sort of wing defense. On a team with this much depth, looking good in the minutes you get helps to move you to the head of the line when reserves are going to be needed. It’s a long season – but the Nuggets really do look as well-suited to it as they have in a long time.