Clippers end losing streak with win over Nuggets

The Clippers’ inconsistency has shown in taking – and surrendering – a 23-point lead against the Golden State Warriors and in losing four of their last six home games.

Remember when Blake Griffin could only dunk?

Crawford scored the Clippers’ first seven points of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 90-76. If the Jazz only beat one team the entire year, I would choose it to be the Clippers. Hopefully Lauvergne will return soon, and work his way back into the lineup.

The technical foul that was assessed to Malone came in a fourth quarter, which slowed the game to a halt.

The Clippers were laughing and high-fiving after Griffin’s shot and a lob from Paul to Jordan late in the game that seemed more than a mile above sea level.

The Jazz won the game, 102-91, but Griffin sure dazzled his fans with the move. It probably was my fault, I could have been doing a lot more.

“We guard nonshooters like they are shooters sometimes, and we’re guarding shooters like they are nonshooters”, the coach said. “Some words were exchanged, and it’s what happens”.

Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 40 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday. When asked about the incident, Malone echoed that there is no issue at all between the two.

They’re going to get it. Mike Malone doesn’t like it, but if it’s effective, what the hell else is he supposed to do? If New Orleans can just be average, they’ll radically improve their chances for a win. That’s where he’s spent 48 percent of his minutes this season, and he can’t protect the rim and is easily elevated over by opponents when it comes to controlling the glass. “We just need to be mentally strong – a swagger where we’re like ‘We’re still going to win this basketball game'”. “So I kind of put the blame on myself”. I thought for him to produce the way he did offensively and still defend the way he did was great. It was his overall play that had his teammates talking after the win. Guard Gary Harris and Randy Foye hit 3-pointers to pull the Nuggets within 10 and Denver started fouling Jordan. Hayward and Gobert combined to score the team’s first 16 points before Favors capped the spurt with a basket. Will they be able to contain Griffin enough and keep Jordan away from the offensive glass, or will the team be forced to give Omer Asik or Alexis Ajinca a lot more minutes than they’ve recently seen? At the very least, he can push the pace, hustle, and rebound. “We have never been like this, so we have to fix it”. And the teams shooting them are among the best 3-point shooting teams in the league.

Overall, the Jazz shot 50 percent to 50.7 for Los Angeles.

“There is frustration on our end, having lost four games in a row now”, Malone said. “But unfortunately, our shooting woes continue”.

The Clippers next faced the Denver Nuggets, a young but risky team, last Tuesday, winning 111-94. They’ve been allowing opposing offenses to thrive at the free throw line and struggling to take advantage of their opportunities on the other end. “But tonight, Hayward hurt us more”.

Paul finished with 24 points and 8 assists.