Los Angeles, CA (Worldwide Gamble) - Rasual Butler scored a season-high 27
points to help the Clippers take down the Denver Nuggets, 106-99, at Staples
Center.
Al Thornton scored 18, and Chris Kaman delivered 13 points, seven rebounds and
six assists for Los Angeles, which snapped a seven-game losing streak to
Denver for only its second win in the last seven games.
Baron Davis checked in with 12 points, a game-best nine assists and six
rebounds.
Carmelo Anthony's 37-point night went for naught, as the Nuggets had a brief
two-game win streak broken. Nene went for 18 points and 12 rebounds, while
Kenyon Martin kicked in 14 points.
"This was a very disappointing game for us. We're everybody's big game now. We
didn't stay focused -- if we would have stayed focused we should have been
able to win this game," said Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups, who ended just 1-
of-5 from the floor for five points.
Denver was up 26-21 after the opening 12 minutes, but LA scored the final
seven points of the frame, ending on a Butler three-ball. That trend continued
in the second quarter as the Clippers scored the opening 12 points with
another two makes by Butler from beyond the arc for a 33-26 lead.
"We knew they were going to make a run and we were able to re-focus. I just
wanted to come out and give us some energy off the bench," Butler said.
Toward the end of the period, Davis nailed a three, and Butler's three-point
play helped allow for a 56-46 Clippers lead at the break. LA built off that
momentum and entered the fourth quarter with a 15-point advantage, 88-73.
An 8-0 spurt midway through the fourth had Denver back within 92-90 as J.R.
Smith had two buckets during the stretch.
Butler, though, hit a three-pointer, and Davis followed suit for a quick 98-90
margin in favor of the hosts. Kaman sank a jump shot a short time later and
added two shots at the foul line to stretch the lead back to double digits,
104-94, with 2:47 to play.
Smith's three-pointer with 1:08 on the clock left the Nuggets down five, and
that's as close as they would get.
Game Notes
The Clippers shot 49.3 percent from the field and connected on 7-of-17 three-
point attempts...Denver hit at a 48.6 percent clip but ended 4-of-17 from
long distance...Smith had nine points in the loss for Denver while Billups had
seven assists.
