{"id":7652,"date":"2026-01-31T04:47:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T04:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7652"},"modified":"2026-02-02T11:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T11:44:09","slug":"nikola-jokic-thrives-in-return-propelling-nuggets-past-clippers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7652","title":{"rendered":"Nikola Jokic thrives in return, propelling Nuggets past Clippers"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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Jan 30, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) controls the ball as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) guards in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game absence to produce 31 points and 12 rebounds, leading the host Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Clippers 122-109 on Friday night.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Jokic, who had been sidelined since sustaining a left knee injury at Miami on Dec. 29, shot 13-for-17 from the foul line to help Denver win its second in a row. The Nuggets went 10-6 while he was out.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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The three-time MVP led a surge in the fourth quarter that broke open a close game, resulting in Los Angeles taking just its fourth loss in the last 20 games.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Denver’s Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 points, Peyton Watson contributed 21, Jamal Murray finished with 20 points and nine assists and Jonas Valanciunas scored 11.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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James Harden amassed 25 points and nine assists for the Clippers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points, John Collins finished with 18 and Ivica Zubac added 13.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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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 to go. Collins missed at the other end, and Denver’s Bruce Brown hit a pair of free throws to extend the advantage to 13 points.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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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.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Jokic had 14 points and seven rebounds 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 Murray’s 3-pointer gave the Nuggets a 59-50 lead at the break.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Los Angeles 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.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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–Field Level Media<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jan 30, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) controls the ball as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) guards in the second quarter at Ball…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":7653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[266,8536,835,2715,8538,674,8537],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nNikola Jokic thrives in return, propelling Nuggets past Clippers - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Deadspin | Nikola Jokic thrives in return, propelling Nuggets past Clippers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7652\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nikola Jokic thrives in return, propelling Nuggets past Clippers - 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