Norman Powell scored 22 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, James Harden hit four high-pressure free throws in the final 30 seconds and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets 109-104 on Saturday.
Harden finished with 23 points and 16 assists, Ivica Zubac contributed 24 points and 15 rebounds and Kris Dunn scored 11 points off the bench for Los Angeles.
Nikola Jokic made a career-high seven 3-pointers on his way to 41 points, Jamal Murray scored 22 points, Christian Braun finished with 11 points and Aaron Gordon added 10 for Denver.
The Clippers led 100-98 when Jokic nailed his seventh 3-pointer and Murray made two free throws to put the Nuggets ahead 103-100. Powell then drained an off-balance 3-pointer and Murray’s layup attempt was blocked by Zubac. Harden was fouled and made both free throws with 30.5 seconds left.
Jokic split two free throws at the other end, Harden made two more foul shots with 14.3 seconds left, Jokic missed from deep and Powell sealed it from the line.
The Nuggets trailed by six at intermission but grinded their way back into the game. Down 59-52, Jokic made a driving layup, Braun drained one from deep and, after Los Angeles missed on three chances, Jokic scored again to tie it.
The Clippers went back in front, but Denver rallied again and went ahead 68-66 on a steal and layup by Braun, its first lead since midway through the opening quarter. The Nuggets then took a 71-70 advantage into the final 12 minutes.
Los Angeles went ahead 75-71, but Julian Strawther banked in a 3-pointer, Jokic fed Gordon for a dunk then hit a pair from deep to give the Nuggets an 82-77 lead.
Jokic hit a floating jumper and a corner 3-pointer to stretch the advantage to 87-80, but Powell made a pair from deep and two layups to spark a 16-7 run and give Los Angeles a 96-94 lead with 3:04 left.
The Clippers led by as many as 18 in the second quarter, but Denver went on an 18-6 run to trail 48-42 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
