By MICHAEL KELLY The Associated Press
DENVER — The Clippers’ bid for a third straight victory over the Denver Nuggets fizzled with a lopsided loss.
Jamal Murray scored a game-high 20 points in his return from a hamstring injury and the Nuggets beat the Clippers, 120-98, on Friday night despite a quiet game from Nikola Jokic.
Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points as the Nuggets (13-10) won consecutive games for the first time in a month and beat the Clippers for the first time in three tries this season.
It was the second of three games between the teams in Denver this season in a contest that was added to the schedule after NBA Cup group play was completed.
Jokic, who scored 56 and 48 points in the last two games, had a season-low two assists and tied season lows with 16 points and seven rebounds.
James Harden had 15 points and nine turnovers for the Clippers (14-12), who turned it over 19 times in their third consecutive loss. Norman Powell and Kevin Porter Jr. each scored 16 points, and Ivica Zubac added 13 points with 13 rebounds.
Powell had averaged 32.6 points and made 63.2% of his 3-point attempts in the first two games against Denver this season, but he shot 3 for 10 from behind the arc.
The Clippers scored 18 straight points in the second quarter to turn a 12-point deficit into a five-point lead. Denver missed eight shots and had 10 turnovers in nearly six minutes when the Clippers went on their run.
The Clippers held a 55-50 lead early in the second half before the Nuggets moved back in front 59-58 less than five minutes into the third quarter. Denver took charge from there while going on a 14-2 run to take a 73-60 lead.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 10 of his 17 points in the third quarter.
The Nuggets took their first 20-point lead at 98-78 with 7:44 remaining after two free throws from Peyton Watson and cruised to the victory from there.
Denver held an opponent below 100 points for the first time since April 9, as Nuggets coach Michael Malone was able to play Jokic less than 30 minutes and sit him out for the entire fourth quarter.
Russell Westbrook had five points and five assists in 24 minutes off the bench against his former team.
UP NEXT
The Clippers host the Utah Jazz on Monday at 7:30 p.m., before a three-game road trip to Dallas (two games) and Memphis.