Without Nikola Jokic, Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan help the Nuggets defeat the Clippers.
On Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, in Los Angeles, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Denver Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson, left, gets ready to dunk over Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann, right. (Ryan Sun/AP Photo)
LOS ANGELES Despite the absence of Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Jamal Murray, the Denver Nuggets managed to secure their most remarkable victory of the year.
On Monday night, the Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 113-104 thanks to a late comeback in the fourth quarter led by Reggie Jackson, who finished with 35 points and 13 rebounds.
The Nuggets were behind by 11 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter when former Clippers Jackson and Jordan combined for 20 points.
With three-pointers to start and finish a 22-6 run, Jackson gave the Nuggets a 99-94 lead. He fed Jordan for two devastating dunks in between.
Late in the game, the Clippers were so anxious to obtain defensive stops that they purposefully fouled Jordan, a player with a dismal free-throw shooting record.
The Nuggets had defeated the Clippers for the ninth time in a row. It was even sweeter because they succeeded while starting players Jokic, Murray, and Gordon were sidelined.
Due to low back soreness, Jokic missed the second game of a back-to-back. Gordon has a right heel strain, and Murray has not fully recovered from a right hamstring strain.
Ivica Zubac finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 31 points.
Early in the fourth quarter, Paul George was flagged for his fourth and fifth fouls. Using two of his thirteen shots, he finished with six points.
After going 8 of 12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, the Clippers were only able to muster four field goals.
102-98, Russell Westbrook missed a free shot, and the Clippers were down. In the last moments, George fired an airball and James Harden committed two mistakes.
In the third, the Clippers defeated Denver 32–19. After Westbrook scored four straight points to break the tie at 72, Zubac scored six straight points to ignite a 17-5 run that put the Clippers ahead 88-77 going into the fourth quarter.
The Clippers started the second quarter up 11 points up thanks to their reserves. With 14 points in the fourth, including a free throw that put the Nuggets ahead 58-56 at the half, Jackson then took over.
Jordan and Jackson combined for multiple scores during the game, taking the home audience back to earlier times. Jordan scored a reverse dunk off a feed from Jackson in the first half then turned an alley-oop ball from Jackson into a dunk.
Norman Powell of the Clippers scored 6,000 points in his career in the second quarter after making a free throw.
