DENVER — The Clippers tried to spoil the party, but Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets rode the good vibes of his return across the finish line.
Jokic had 31 points and 12 rebounds in his first game in a month, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 22 points and the Nuggets knocked off the Clippers, 122-109, on Friday night.
Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, missed 16 games after injuring his left knee in the first half of a Dec. 29 loss at Miami. The Nuggets went 10-6 during that stretch, which also included extended absences from starters Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun.
Jokic’s 29th double-double of the season came despite being on a minutes restriction imposed by Coach David Adelman. The 30-year-old Serbian was limited to 25 minutes, his second-fewest in a game this season.
James Harden had 25 points and nine assists for the Clippers, who had won 16 of their previous 19 games, the best win percentage in that NBA during that period. Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points, John Collins finished with 18 and Ivica Zubac added 13 as the Clippers saw their three-game winning streak end.
Jokic scored 11 points over a stretch of 3:47 in the fourth quarter that extended Denver’s lead from five to 16. The Nuggets improved to 7-3 this season in the second game of a back-to-back.
Jamal Murray had 22 points, and Peyton Watson added 21 for Denver. Murray, who made four of his five 3-point shots and had a team-high nine assists, scored at least 20 points in a game for the 35th time this season, matching a career high.
Hardaway opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to give Denver a 95-80 lead, but Kobe Sanders scored eight consecutive points to start a 13-2 Clippers surge that made it a four-point game.
The Nuggets pulled away from there. Hardaway was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all three free throws, and Jokic scored the Nuggets’ next eight points to make it 108-97 with 5:22 left. Collins missed at the other end, and Denver’s Bruce Brown hit a pair of free throws to extend the advantage to 13 points.
Jokic hit Watson with a behind-the-back pass for a dunk, and then the 6-foot-11 Serbian finished his night with a 3-pointer with 3:22 left.
Jokic had 14 points and seven rebounds in less then 11 first-half minutes, helping Denver lead by as many as 13. The Clippers closed within 53-50 in the final minute of the second quarter before a Murray 3-pointer gave the Nuggets a 59-50 lead at the break.
The Clippers opened the third quarter strong and went ahead 69-68 on a dunk by Collins. Denver responded with a 10-3 run to lead by six and took a 92-80 edge heading into the fourth.
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The Clippers play at Phoenix on Sunday at 5 p.m. PT.
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