LA Clippers 121-108 Denver Nuggets: 5 Talking points as Kawhi Leonard suffers mouth injury | NBA Christmas Day 2020
The LA Clippers continued their good start to the 2020-21 season with a resounding 121-108 win over the Denver Nuggets where they controlled the game from start to finish. With this win, Kawhi Leonard and co. have officially buried their demons of the past.
After a close first quarter, Ty Lue's men shot the ball exceptionally well to establish a lead and maintained the same throughout to bag an easy win. There were a few positives for the Denver Nuggets as well who tried to get back into the game but just didn't have that X-factor. They're now 0-2 to start the season.
Without further ado, let's look at five key takeaways from this Western Conference affair.
#1 LA Clippers' torch the Denver Nuggets from downtown
The LA Clippers were simply too good from the field today to allow Denver Nuggets any sort of momentum. The ball movement was slick again as Ty Lue's men created good looks off extra passes and pick-and-rolls. Paul George led the way once again with 23 points on 5-of-9 shooting from downtown. He also had nine assists to his name.
The rest of the LA Clippers' roster supported ably too, with the team going 19-of-38 from 3-point range while shooting 55% from the field overall. Nicolas Batum, Serge Ibaka, and Ivica Zubac all had double digits in scoring. Even Patrick Beverley chipped in with two treys.
#2 Jamal Murray catches fire again but LA Clippers pull through
Jamal Murray didn't have a great outing in the Denver Nuggets' season opener against the Sacramento Kings. He struggled through three quarters against the LA Clippers as well. But like we saw in the bubble, Murray just flicked a switch in the fourth and dropped 13 points.
He ended the night with 23 points but that wasn't enough to close down the gap on their opponents. Nikola Jokic also went one rebound shy of a triple-double but struggled down the stretch. The young duo needs to start performing in tandem to bring the Denver Nuggets' campaign back on track.
Also read: LA Clippers 121-108 Denver Nuggets - Twitter explodes as Paul George takes over to freeze any chance of a Nuggets comeback