Lawson, Gallinari lead Nuggets to easy win over Clippers

Denver, CO, United States (4E Sports) – Ty Lawson recorded 21 points and 11 assists while six other teammates submitted double-digit outputs as the Denver Nuggets grabbed their seventh straight win with an easy 107-92 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday at Pepsi Center.

Danilo Gallinari added 20, Andre Iguodala had 14 while Wilson Chandler and Andre Miller scored 12 points apiece for the Nuggets, who won their 12th straight game at home and improved their record at Pepsi Center to a league-best 27-3, tied with the Miami Heat.

Kenneth Faried and Corey Brewer had 11 points each while Miller added seven dimes as the Nuggets improved their overall mark to 41-22, moving within a game of idle Memphis for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Matt Barnes scored 19 while Blake Griffin added 17 but they failed to match the Nuggets’ firepower as the loss ended the Clippers’ five-game winning streak on the road.

Chris Paul added 16 points and issued 10 dimes for the Clippers (44-20), who sorely missed their injured second-leading scorer Jamal Crawford.

Crawford, who averages 17.2 points a game, suffered a sore left ankle after rolling it in the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday.

Just like the first half that ended in a 49-all deadlock, the first four minutes of the third quarter was a close one, with the lead exchanging several times.

However, Gallinari, Lawson and Iguodala sparked a 20-4 run blast to turn a 60-59 Clippers lead to a commanding 79-64 advantage, with three minutes to play in the third canto.

In the fourth, Paul scored five straight points to cut the Nuggets’ deficit to 88-80 but the Nuggets outscored them, 19-9, in the next six minutes to take a 107-89 lead.

“We were missing little easy shots and allowed them to get in transition. They pulled away in the second half with their transition offense. We just ran out of gas tonight,” said Barnes.

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