DENVER (AP) — James Harden had 23 points and 16 assists, Norman Powell scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Clippers powered past Nikola Jokic’s 41 points to defeat the Denver Nuggets 109-104 on Saturday.

Jokic made a career-high seven 3-pointers but missed the free throw with 20 seconds left in the game. Harden scored four points from the line in the final 30.5 seconds.

The Clippers fell behind 103-100 with Powell’s three-pointer. Jamal Murray, who scored 22 points, missed a layup and then Harden made two free throws.

After Jokic drained a pair from the line, Harden made two more fouls to make the score 107-104, and Jokic missed an off-balance three-pointer.

takeaway

Clippers: Harden missed the free throw in the first down against Phoenix on Wednesday but went 13-of-12 from the line on Saturday. Most of his 16 assists were made by Ivica Zubac, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds.

Nuggets: The offense was better, but the bench played 18/3 points. Only Julian Swather made a field goal for this unit.

key moment

Jokic presented Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon with the MVP award at the Avalanche’s home opener two weeks ago, and MacKinnon returned the favor before Saturday’s tipoff. While wearing his jersey, Jokic pulled out his Michael Jordan Trophy and hugged the three-time MVP.

Key statistics

In Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City, Denver hit just 7 of 38 shots from 3-point range and began Saturday missing 11 of 13. The Nuggets made 12 of their next 20 shots from distance but missed their final two attempts.

next

The Clippers travel to Golden State on Sunday night, while the Nuggets begin a three-game road trip in Toronto on Monday night.

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