Denver Nuggets: Three-Game Win Streak Snapped by LAC

The Denver Nuggets’ three-game win streak came to end Tuesday night after falling hard to the Clippers 119-102.

Ahh, good old reality. We missed you. While the win streak was nice, tonight’s matchup with the Clippers reminded us that this team still has a lot of growing to do. Tonight got off to a bad start as Los Angeles led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter. Once the second unit came in, Denver cut the lead to two early in the second quarter, but once the starters for both teams checked back in the Clipper’s lead quickly grew back to 15 heading into halftime. The starters, who have played tremendous the past three games, did not show up tonight. Imagine how good these Nuggets will be if the starters and bench can both show up on a consistent basis.

Defensively, the Denver Nuggets were lackadaisical once again. The Clippers had their way on the offensive end and finished with 119 points, 68 of which came in the first half. Denver has now allowed at least 105 points in 12 of their last 14 games. JJ Redick lit it up for LA, scoring 27 points while shooting 7-9 from three, while Chris Paul added 16 points, 15 assists, and 8 rebounds. The Clippers’ offense looked very fluid tonight and was always in motion. Denver has to do a better job of fighting through screens and showing on ball handlers to prevent such open looks.

The Nuggets’ starters have been terrific ever since the lineup change, but that was not in effect tonight. They were outscored 77-42 by LA’s starters. Mudiay and Harris, who have been awesome the last few games, combined for just 3 points, 2 assists, and 1-15 shooting. Ouch. We should not get too worried about this though, as they are both still so young and learning new things every night. However, they will eventually have to prove that they can play consistently and beat quality teams. The few bright spots for the Nuggets tonight were Will Barton, who finished with 22 points and Kenneth Faried with 15 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

It was a rough night for the Nuggets, but they are still learning. The Nuggets will eventually have to prove that they can beat quality opponents on the road to start turning heads. The squad will look to forget about tonight’s game and bounce back vs. Atlanta at home on Thursday.