By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
In a tightly contested matchup at the Intuit Dome, the Los Angeles Clippers narrowly defeated the Denver Nuggets, 115-114, on Thursday.
Despite dealing with early foul trouble, Nikola Jokic finished with 22 points, including 16 after the break. The Serbian superstar shot 9-of-22 from the field and struggled from deep, going 0-of-6 from three-point range. While he dominated the glass with 17 rebounds and dished out six assists, his impact was tempered by six turnovers.
Countering the resurgence of the Joker in the first game for both sides out of the All-Star break, the Clippers rallied to improve to 27-28 in the 2025–26 NBA regular season, dropping the Nuggets to 35-21.
The game’s intensity peaked when tempers flared between Nuggets veteran Jonas Valanciunas and Clippers rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser late in the fourth quarter. The two big men became entangled during a physical sequence in the paint, reflecting the high stakes as both teams battled for late-season momentum.
In 13 minutes of action, Swiss Niederhauser registered four points, four rebounds, and one assist. Another European reserve for head coach Tyronn Lue, French forward Nicolas Batum, contributed six points and two rebounds in 18 minutes. However, Serbian guard Bogdan Bogdanovic remained out of the rotation.
As for the 33-year-old Valanciunas, the Lithuanian backup center got six points, four rebounds, and two steals over 12 minutes.
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