A huge reason why the Denver Nuggets missed the playoffs by one game last season was their road record.
The Nuggets opened the new season on Wednesday by taking care of business away from home as they rallied in the fourth quarter and defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 107-98.
“That’s what mature basketball teams do. When everything’s not going well they find ways to win,” said Paul Millsap, who had 11 points and 16 rebounds. “We stayed with it, didn’t panic and were able to execute down the stretch.”
Denver was 46-36 last season but won only 15 games on the road, which is why its postseason drought was extended to five years.
It looked like the Nuggets’ road woes would catch up with them again. Despite leading most of the game, they trailed 92-84 with 5:14 remaining after the Clippers went on an 11-3 run that was highlighted by a pair of Boban Marjanovic three-point plays.
Denver then closed the game by outscoring Los Angeles 23-6. Gary Harris scored six of his 20 points down the stretch while Millsap, who missed his first six shots from the field, hit a jumper with 2:55 remaining to give the Nuggets a 95-94 lead and then was 6 of 8 on foul shots.
After a Tobias Harris free throw tied the game at 95, Nikola Jokic gave Denver the lead for good with 1:24 remaining with a putback layup off Jamal Murray’s missed jumper.
“We closed out the game well, made some shots and defended well,” said Jokic, who led the Nuggets with 21 points along with eight rebounds.
The Nuggets were 33 of 87 from the field but outrebounded the Clippers by nine (56-47).
Los Angeles wasn’t much better from the field, going 35 of 87, but it was 8 of 28 on 3-pointers.
“What stood out to me was what I said before the year, which was, ‘Can we close games?’ and tonight we didn’t do that,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We had a lead, we had to go offense for defense a little bit. Down the stretch, we really just didn’t get good shots.”
Tobias Harris had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Marjanovic added 18 points for the Clippers.
Will Barton added 19 points for Denver, with all but six coming in the first half.
Denver led 59-54 at the half after scoring the final six points of the second quarter. The Nuggets then extended the lead to 63-54 early in the third quarter before the Clippers slowly whittled it down to two (74-72) at the end of the quarter.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Denver was without Isaiah Thomas (right hip surgery), Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery) and Michael Porter Jr. (lower back surgery). … Trey Lyles added 10 points.
Clippers: Danilo Gallinari had 16 points while Lou Williams added 14. … Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft, scored 11 points in his NBA debut.
UP NEXT:
Nuggets: Have their home opener against Phoenix on Saturday.
Clippers: Continue their three-game homestand on Friday against Oklahoma City.
NBA WEDNESDAY
–The New Orleans Pelicans have opened their NBA schedule with a dominant performance in a win over the Rockets at Houston. Anthony Davis delivered 32 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists as the Pelicans hammered the Rockets, 131-112. Nikola Mirotic had 30 points for New Orleans, which outscored Houston 76-44 in the paint and hit 40 percent of its 25 3-point attempts.
The Rockets hardly resembled the team that came within one victory of the NBA Finals last spring, shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc and allowing over 130 points in a regulation game for the first time since Jan. 17, 2015 against Golden State.
— The Bucks pulled out a 113-112 win over the Hornets as Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 25 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. Antetokounmpo made two free throws with 23.7 seconds remaining to put the Bucks ahead after the Hornets battled back from a 20-point deficit behind 41 points from Walker. Khris Middleton had 19 points and Eric Bledsoe added 17 for Milwaukee.
— Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Victor Oladipo added 16 in the Pacers’ 111-83 rout of the Grizzlies. Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds in Indiana’s most lopsided season-opening win since entering the NBA in 1976.
— Kawhi Leonard had a successful debut with Toronto as he provided 24 points and a team-high 13 rebounds in a 116-104 victory against the Cavaliers. Kyle Lowry scored 27 points as Toronto won its opener for the sixth straight year and gave Nick Nurse his first coaching victory.
— DeMar DeRozan had a strong performance in his first game as a Spur, furnishing 28 points in a 112-108 downing of the Timberwolves. Jimmy Butler started and dropped in 23 points after agreeing to play with the Wolves while the team tries to accommodate his trade request.
— The Knicks racked up a team-record, 49-point second quarter in a 126-107 rout of Atlanta to win the debut of head coach David Fizdale. Tim Hardaway poured in 16 of his 31 points while New York outscored the Hawks, 49-25 in the second period.
— Devin Booker scored 19 of his 35 points in the final 6:44 to help the Suns turn a four-point lead into a 121-100 rout of the Mavericks. First overall pick Deandre Ayton made 8 of 11 shots for 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had six assists in his NBA debut.
— Donovan Mitchell scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to push the Jazz past the Kings, 123-117. Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Joe Ingles scored 22 and Derrick Favors added 18 points and nine boards in Utah’s sixth straight win over Sacramento.
— The Pistons were 103-100 winners over the Nets behind Andre Drummond’s 24 points and 20 rebounds. Blake Griffin added 26 points to help Detroit withstand Caris LaVert’s 27 points for Brooklyn.
— Rookie Mohamed Bamba dunked twice and blocked a shot during a 9-0 run that pushed the Magic past the Heat, 104-101. Aaron Gordon had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Magic, who managed to win despite failing to hit a field goal over the final 4 1/2 minutes.