One week ago Monday, J.J. Redick went for 27 points in a 17-point Clippers win over the Denver Nuggets in Los Angeles. A week later, Nikola Jokic went for 24 on the same floor and the Nuggets held off the Clippers 106-102.
Los Angeles was playing without Redick and fellow starters Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, but they’ll take any win they can get at the moment. Denver itself is just getting fully healthy and reestablishing its rotations, so any road win is a positive.
A balanced scoring effort and stout defense held off Los Angeles down the stretch. Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton each had 23 points and the Nuggets held the Clippers scoreless for a five-minute span in the fourth quarter to deliver their 13th win of the season.
Denver has two games at home before the calendar flips to 2017. First, they host Minnesota on Wednesday, Dec. 28 and then Philadelphia comes to town on Friday, Dec. 30. They open the new year at Golden State on Jan. 2.
