Nuggets Stun Clippers thanks to Improved Cooperation; What are the Takeaways:

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 111-108 on Tuesday at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, extending the opponents’ losing run to six games.

The Nuggets continued to be without Jamal Murray, who is unlikely to return in November due to a hamstring injury, but Aaron Gordon and Reggie Jackson filled Murray’s scoring and organizing duties admirably as the second-in-command. Gordon finished with 20 points and five assists on 8-for-12 shooting from the field. Jackson hit seven of his eleven shots for 18 points and four assists.

In fact, everyone in the Nuggets’ rotations did something to keep the ball moving on Tuesday night. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had four assists; neither Michael Porter Jr. nor Christian Braun is a passer, but they never hesitated to cut to the basket when the opportunity presented itself.

When the rest of the Nuggets did their jobs, Nikola Jokic was like a gigantic magnet that held the entire team together. He was not in peak shape or energy in Tuesday’s game, missing 15 of his 23 field goal (FG) attempts. However, Jokic was always able to assist his team. He went to the line 14 times and didn’t miss a single one. In the third quarter, he targeted Ivica Zubac with zeal, drawing three quick fouls on him, forcing the Clippers to keep a small team on the court for an extended period of time. When Jokic posted up in the fourth quarter, he was repeatedly double-teamed, but he somehow got the ball to Gordon free beneath the basket.

In comparison to the Nuggets, who provided a total of 26 assists to keep everyone involved in offense, the Clippers only provided 21 assists because their game consisted of Paul George, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard launching isolation one by one. Russell Westbrook and Ivica Zubac were the only two players on the squad that made some connections, but Zubac was fouled out in the third quarter and Westbrook was benched in the final minutes of the fourth period because he was interfering with the spacing too much.

George was the best-performing Clipper on Tuesday night as he went 13-for-26 in FGs to drop 35 points in addition to seven rebounds and three assists. Harden added 21 points and four assists. Leonard didn’t heat up in this game, but he got five steals, including one in the final 17 seconds to enable George to make the layup that cut their deficit to one point (109-108).

To be fair, until the Clippers can find a method to assist Harden assimilate into the team’s scheme without jeopardizing the existing camaraderie, simplifying their game with more isolations on offense and switching everything on defense is not the worst option. Nonetheless, this will not bring the squad any closer to the NBA title, which has been their goal for the past four years.

Other games on Tuesday (away teams come first):

Indiana Pacers 132-126 Philadelphia 76ers