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Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers NBA Preview & Free Pick

NBA Basketball Matchup: Nuggets vs Clippers

The injury-depleted Denver Nuggets will be aiming to string together back to back wins after three straight losses when they head to Los Angeles to take on a Clippers team that is hit and miss in their seven outings.

Date/Time: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Broadcast: FSN Prime Ticket
Spread: OFF
Over/Under: OFF

Matchup | Preview  

Denver, who is still without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari, Nene, and Rudy Fernandez, is coming off its second consecutive overtime game in as many nights, beating the Minnesota Timber Wolves 103-101 on Monday, after falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-118 on Sunday.

Al Harrington stepped up for the Nuggets, coming off the bench to score a season-high 31 points while Arron Afflalo added 20 points, including the go-ahead basket and two free throws in the final 33.7 seconds.

Rookie Kenneth Faried had 10 points and a season-high 14 rebounds as Denver won for only the fourth time in its last 14 games.

The most interesting thing about this one was that the Nuggets trailed by as many as 14 points in the second quarter before going on a 23-4 spurt to give Denver a 51-46 halftime lead.[soliloquy id=”82219″]

However, hanging on to that lead was another story for the second night in a row, leaving the game to be decided in extra time just one day after Kevin Durant scored a career-high 51 points and Russell Westbrook tallied a season-best 40 points as Oklahoma City rallied for a late fourth quarter comeback.

Meanwhile, the Clippers fell to the Golden State Warriors just one night after losing their own OT battle at home against San Antonio, after allowing the Warriors to battle back with a barrage of late-game three.

To make matters worse, after relinquishing their lead with just 2:07 remaining, the Clippers never scored again.
Los Angles did do well in one area, as they had a 46-38 rebounding edge for the game.

Chris Paul led the Clips with 24 points but 17 turnovers overruled his performance.

The Nuggets are playing well, considering their injury list, but it hasn’t equated to wins.

The Clippers on the other hand have won six of eight following the most recent matchup with the Nuggets. Denver’s inability to hold onto a lead is killing them, but after falling behind by 13 points in the first quarter in the last meeting with the Clippers, they did charge back to win 112-91 on Feb. 2.

Of course, Gallinari, Nene, and Fernandez where all healthy for that one.

Free Pick: Los Angeles

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By Cappers Picks

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