The Los Angeles Clippers didn’t just beat the Denver Nuggets in preseason action - they did it with a kind of offensive rhythm that made the 122-110 result look even more convincing. Los Angeles shot 51.7% from the field, knocked down 15 threes, and outpaced Denver in just about every area that mattered. The Nuggets were efficient enough overall at 47.7%, but the gap from deep told the story: the Clippers hit 45.5% of their three-point attempts, while Denver managed 33.3%.
That edge from long range created a 12-point advantage for Los Angeles beyond the arc, and it came with a lot of different hands involved. Rui Hachimura led the way with 16 points and three made threes on five tries.
Keaton Wagler added 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists while also burying three triples. Derrick Jones Jr. finished with 14 points, Darius Garland put up 14 points and seven assists, Brook Lopez scored nine points in just eight minutes, and Jalen Pickett contributed 10 points on 4-6 shooting with two made threes.
The Clippers’ attack wasn’t built on one-hot stretch. It kept coming from multiple directions.
Garland’s line stood out for more than just the scoring. He gave Los Angeles another steady playmaker, and that showed in the team’s 35 assists on 45 made field goals.
Even with four turnovers of his own, he helped keep the offense moving and made the Clippers look organized when the lineup changed. Wagler added four assists, Pickett had five, and the overall ball movement was a big part of why Los Angeles stayed in control.
The Clippers also protected the ball better as a group, finishing with 11 turnovers compared to Denver’s 16.
Denver had its own bright spots, and the biggest came from Cam Whitmore. He scored 22 points on 8-10 shooting and went 3-4 from three-point range in just 25 minutes.
He also added a steal and a block, showing he was affecting the game in more than one way. Whitmore was efficient, aggressive, and one of the few Nuggets who consistently forced the Clippers to react to him.
Julian Strawther added 17 points on 7-13 shooting, including a three-pointer, giving Denver another useful scoring option off the bench.
Still, the Nuggets couldn’t overcome the rough patches elsewhere. Nikola Jokic finished with five points on 1-6 shooting, along with six rebounds and seven assists in 17 minutes.
Jamal Murray scored 14 points on 6-8 shooting and hit two threes, but he had just one assist in 17 minutes. Christian Braun scored three points, Cameron Johnson had five, and Aaron Gordon finished with eight points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.
Denver finished with 29 assists, but the 16 turnovers and the cold shooting from deep kept the offense from matching Los Angeles.
The preseason context matters, but the Clippers still walked away with something useful: proof that they can score in bunches, share the ball, and do it with enough spacing to make defenses work. For Denver, Whitmore and Strawther provided some lift, but the night belonged to a Clippers team that looked sharp from the start and kept applying pressure until the final buzzer.
In Other News...
Clippers Just Sent A Clear Message About Cam Christie
The Clippers made a roster move with Cam Christie that says as much about their long-term view as it does about their immediate bookkeeping. Christie, a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, was waived ahead of a salary guarantee date, a procedural step that often gives teams flexibility while they sort out the back end of the roster.
After he cleared waivers, Los Angeles brought him back on a two-way contract, keeping him in the organization and leaving the door open for more development time. For a young player still trying to carve out a path, it is a clear sign the Clippers still want to invest in his growth, even if the next stage of that growth may come with time in the G League. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Rebuild Just Got More Brutal Than Fans Realized
The Clippers long-term outlook took a major hit just as they were trying to sort out the next phase of the roster. With Kawhi Leonard long gone back to Toronto after the trade, the franchise is now staring at a rebuild that has to be managed without the kind of draft flexibility teams usually lean on to reset.
What makes the situation even tougher is how much is already riding on the current groups health and development. The coming season will hinge on whether players like Darius Garland and Brandon Ingram can stay on the floor and produce at the level needed to keep the team relevant, but the deeper problem is structural: the Clippers will be trying to stay competitive while their first-round control remains tied up for years. [Read more 🡒]