Ohm YoungmisukESPN Staff Writer November 15, 2023, 2:53am ET3 minutes read
Gordon counters with a clutch reverse dunk from Jokic
Aaron Gordon scores Nikola Jokic’s dime late against the Clippers.
DENVER – The LA Clippers played their best game yet with James Harden. But they couldn’t beat the defending champion Denver Nuggets – or, in Paul George’s opinion, the reigning team.
The Clippers star was angry with the referees after the Nuggets beat the Clippers 111-108 at Ball Arena on Tuesday night.
George led all scorers with 35 points and seven rebounds, but the Clippers lost their sixth straight game and fifth with Harden in the lineup.
George said he should have gone to the line more than the five times the team of Josh Tiven, Natalie Sago and Matt Boland called during the game. George was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with the referees that he was fouled on a breakaway dunk attempt that he missed late in the second quarter.
“I thought we played great,” George said. “It’s tough, the adversity, playing against the extra three [officials]. I thought she was terrible. But, [against the] As defending champions we have to play better. There are a lot of positive things to say. I’m not one for moral victories, but I think that tonight we showed more of a sign of a team that is on the verge of overcoming the crisis.
The Clippers erased a 13-point deficit and led by seven points with six minutes left in the fourth. In a hard-fought finish, George had a chance to potentially send the game into overtime when his contested 3-pointer with 7.6 seconds left was wedged between the rim and the backboard.
The Clippers lost the following jump ball to Nikola Jokic (32 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists) and Denver ran out of time. The Nuggets made 32 free throws compared to the Clippers’ 24, and George felt there should have been a lot more attacks at the line, especially when it came to his night.
“It was bad,” George said when asked how the game ended. “Five free throws is very disrespectful this evening. I got hit on layups and three-pointers so many times, it was consistent.”
“Jump shots, getting hit, hits to the forearm. I mean, it was bad, a bad job. But again, we need to be able to beat these guys on the floor and not have to rely on it. Her again.” [are] If you name something at one end, you have to name it at the other end.