The Denver Nuggets recovered on Wednesday night with a big win over the Los Angeles Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Nuggets won 126-103 in blowout fashion, immediately establishing a lead in the first quarter and never looking back. Without Nikola Jokic or Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets played hard and played well, establishing good habits on the defensive end and running in transition. The Nuggets held the Clippers to a paltry 36.7% from the field and just 24 points in the paint. Denver also had 29 fast break points on the other end, capitalizing on their good defense in a way they hadn’t for most of the season.

“You have to give our starters all the credit in the world,” Michael Malone declared postgame, “because our starters set the tone. The guys off the bench were ready to play, and as a micro goal in this league, you never want to lose two in a row.”

Jamal Murray led the way scoring wise with 21 points and nine assists, shooting an efficient 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range. Murray also had a steal and a block, finishing a +24 in his 34 minutes. He was the Defensive Player of the Game for the Nuggets postgame.

“It feels good, especially on a back-to-back,” Murray shared postgame. “This was an important game with the season series. It was a blowout, but it was a really good win.”

The Nuggets tied the season series against the Clippers at 2-2, an important factor given both teams’ placement in the standings. The Nuggets are now 21-15 while the Clippers are 20-17. This gives Denver a bit of breathing room against another Western Conference playoff team, and as Nuggets fans know, tiebreakers can be incredibly impactful at the end of the season.

Russell Westbrook was amped up tonight to face his former team and played great basketball overall. He started the game perhaps a bit too amped up with some miscues, but he settled into a nice rhythm and put immense pressure on the Clippers nearly every possession. One of the big plays that set the tone early in the game happened with about four minutes left in the first quarter: Westbrook committed a lane violation on a free throw attempt to grab a rebound, and on the very next play, grabbed another missed free throw over Ivica Zubac and got the putback basket. It fired up Westbrook and the entire arena.

Westrbook finished the game with 19 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, giving the Nuggets a lift with his effort and intensity. On a night when he and the entire city of Los Angeles were thinking about the devastating wildfires in the LA area, Westbrook didn’t let that deter him and played strong basketball.

Michael Porter Jr. contributed 19 points and eight rebounds in his minutes, shooting an efficient 8-of-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from three. The Clippers had very little success targeting him defensively too. James Harden drew one foul that I remember, but for the most part, Porter handled his business really well on both ends of the floor.

The Importance of Team Wins

DeAndre Jordan also played an awesome game for the Nuggets, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals in his 23 minutes. He started tonight in place of Dario Saric, and that was the right call by Malone and the coaching staff. Jordan matched up well and outplayed Ivica Zubac in the paint, and he had great moments on both ends of the floor, including an awesome alley-oop jam from Westbrook.

Christian Braun got back to his efficient ways with 15 points on 6-of-8 from the field, making both threes he attempted.

Julian Strawther made an impact scoring with 16 efficient points, but he also had four rebounds, two assists, and played one of his better defensive games this season.

Peyton Watson was a menace on the defensive end with a steal and two blocks, staying involved on the offensive end with some impressive finishes around the rim.

Even Dario Saric got in on the action tonight, making a corner three and staying involved, logging seven points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in 20 minutes.

So often when the team has Nikola Jokic, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “give the three-time MVP the basketball every time because he’s much better than me.” There’s some benefit to that at times, but it’s a pretty heliocentric way to play basketball, focused entirely on one player and how he can carry the burden for the entire group.

Tonight was about sharing the burden. Six players finished in double figures. Westbrook led the team with 16 shot attempts. The defense was great across the board, and the effort was put in early. The Nuggets knew they had to get this win tonight after losing the night before, and they immediately set the tone as a team in the first quarter.

This was one of the more encouraging nights at Ball Arena. There were extenuating circumstances for the Clippers in why their effort and focus may not have been all the way there, but the Nuggets still delivered in a big way. It wasn’t superstar performances, though Murray and Porter looked pretty good. It wasn’t all offense, though put forth a tremendous showing for the fans. It was the positive energy that the team had been trying to find.

Let’s see if they can keep it going throughout January.

Final Rotations