James Harden had 39 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 126-122 win over the Denver Nuggets in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday night.
Harden hit six 3-pointers for the game and played all 24 minutes of the second half while Norman Powell flourished in his first game back after missing the past six due to a hamstring injury. Powell hit five treys and finished with 28 points in 25 minutes of action.
Nikola Jokic posted 28 points, 14 boards and 11 assists to move into a tie for third place on the all-time triple-doubles list.
It was Jokic’s eighth triple-double of the season and the 138th of his career, drawing him level with Magic Johnson in the record books. He now trails only Denver teammate Russell Westbrook (200 triple-doubles) and Oscar Robertson (181).
The win was the Clippers’ eighth in a row at home, soured slightly by an injury to Amir Coffey, who had 13 points before limping off the court after knocking knees with teammate Ivica Zubac about midway through the third quarter.
Jamal Murray’s triple with one minute to play and Christian Braun’s putback with 19.9 seconds remaining trimmed the Clippers’ advantage from seven points to two, 123-121.
Zubac and Jokic each hit 1 of 2 free throws at opposite ends before Harden iced the game from the charity stripe, hitting a pair of foul shots to complete a 13-for-13 night at the line.
Powell didn’t miss a beat from the outset, and Kris Dunn was active on defense early as Los Angeles jumped ahead 11-2.
Jokic led the Nuggets’ recovery efforts following their sluggish start, scoring 15 first-quarter points to trim the Clippers’ advantage to 32-23 after one frame.
Jordan Miller came off the bench and scored eight points in a hurry early in the second quarter before Denver responded with an 11-0 run to turn a 43-35 deficit into a 46-43 edge with 5:39 to go in the first half.
The teams went into the break tied at 59.
The Nuggets moved ahead 80-70 in the third quarter before Harden and Powell caught fire from long range, draining three triples apiece inside the final five minutes of the period, which ended with Los Angeles up 92-90.
