Clippers get back to .500 mark with 111-94 win over Nuggets

They’ve averaged 23.3 personal fouls per game, surrendering 29.4 free throw attempts and over 22.8 freebies a night.

The Clippers next faced the Denver Nuggets, a young but unsafe team, last Tuesday, winning 111-94.

Jordan finished with 11 rebounds and four blocks, while Griffin had 10 rebounds.

The loss was the team’s third in a row and the worst start for the Clippers since the arrival of point guard Chris Paul. Following his hot start, Griffin suddenly got cold, missing 10 consecutive shots at one point.

“Wes was awesome”, Paul said. 500 with a 6-7 record on the season and 2-2 record at home. “We both want to win, he is just trying to challenge me and I accept it”.

As for Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets, though, Crawford at least showed up at times with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

Despite not posting impressive shooting numbers, Danilo Gallinari finished with 20 points on 2-10 shooting and did convert 16-17 from the foul line. The Lakers are going in the opposite direction, as they’ve lost three straight games both straight up and against the number.

If Crawford is going to find more success, his mentality is just as important as his technical ability. “I got nothing against coach, I respect him and he’s a great person”.

Griffin was struggling from the field until he hit a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock midway through the third.

What it boils down to is the same thing we’ve been talking about for years: the Clippers need their reserves to play better in order for their starters to be rested and play well while they’re on the floor. We have to be a little more mentally tough. The Nuggets were outscored 45-12 by Golden State from the 3-point line in their loss Sunday at the Pepsi Center, and on the season are being outscored roughly 30-21 on a nightly basis from the arc.

Clippers: J.J. Redick had 16 points…. Prior to the Detroit game, Lance was getting good burn, never playing less than 18 minutes in the first nine games of the season. He averaged 6.5 boards in his previous six games…. Denver is now a 7-point underdog while the total sits at 206.5 points.

Los Angeles is ranked 22nd in defensive rebounds, while Utah ranks eighth in offensive rebounds.

Joffrey Lauvergne has been out for almost a month now with a back injury. Mike Miller made a rare first-half appearance and gave the Nuggets a jolt with two 3-pointers in seven minutes off the bench.

Malone picked up a technical foul when he had a verbal exchange with Griffin over continuously fouling Jordan and then got heated with his point guard, Emmanuel Mudiay, when he took him out late in the game.

The expletives from Griffin irritated Nuggets coach Michael Malone who was jawing back at Griffin during the following timeout.

“Trust me I’m not a fan of it, but it’s a rule that you can use and we felt that we had a better chance of fouling him than allowing them to take a shot”, Malone said.