Cameras caught the fiery Malone in heated exchanges Tuesday night with rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, and LA Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin. 500 with the 111-94 win.
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Griffin reached double figures in rebounds for the first time in seven games.
Despite the seeming spiraling fortunes, Blake Griffin believes that they need to shrug it off and prevent negativity from setting in.
The loss was the team’s third in a row and the worst start for the Clippers since the arrival of point guard Chris Paul.
Clippers: J.J. Redick had 16 points…. Redick jumper at the 4:16 mark.
“You’ve just got to see it go in sometimes and I guess that’s what it was”, said Griffin, who went on to make his next two jumpers as the Clippers took an 11-point lead by the end of the third quarter. The starters have to be efficient with their shots, and you just can’t do that consistently on exhausted legs. The Clippers actually didn’t record a single point in the paint in the first, and their only attempt came on an ill-fated DeAndre Jordan post-up.
The Nuggets have played against seven of the top 14 3-point shooting teams in the National Basketball Association, including the top two (Golden State and Phoenix) twice. Five Clippers scored at least 15. “My mindset coming into the game was to my strengths and that led to second-chance points”. But what else has gone wrong with the once elite Clippers attack?
Danilo Gallinari predictably proved to be a handful for L.A., as well. General manager (and head coach) Doc Rivers improved the bench by signing Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson, Cole Aldrich, and Wes Johnson – leading many analysts to claim that the Clippers had one of the better offseason recruitment drives.
The Clippers shot 47 free throws; the Nuggets 29. Johnson scored 11 points, but foul trouble impacted his night late. “We both want to win, he is just trying to challenge me and I accept it”.
Jokic wasn’t expected to contribute much this season but injuries have thrust him into the starting lineup and he has certainly seized the opportunity. Film study reveals those shots are the majority of time on the backside of the play.
Other than tonight’s dragged out fourth quarter, the rest of the game was generally a well-played, back-and-forth contest. “After I hit that halfcourt shot I got in a rhythm”. There were a total of 23 fouls called in the fourth alone, though most of those were Denver hack-a-DJ attempts. If you’re hitting 50% of your free throws when the opposition is intentionally fouling you, that’s a win.
Denver started fouling Jordan, and the center was just 7 of 16 from the line in the fourth, but Denver couldn’t hit enough shots to close the gap. The Clippers were outrebounded for the 12th time in 14 games. A few deflections, a few helps early in the game. Yes, the Clips were outrebounded yet again (48-43), but they also limited the Nuggets to just eight offensive boards.
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The Nuggets low shooting percentage – which has plagued them all year, and the entirety of last year – continues to be an issue for this team.
