Denver Nuggets Beat Clippers in Dominate Fashion

Oct 8, 2015; Boulder, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) celebrates with forward Danilo Gallinari (8) during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at Coors Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Two words: The Manimal.

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 87-81 Wednesday night, and how they did it might surprise some fans.

The Clippers, with center DeAndre Jordan and their flashy dunk style, started the game oddly with a plethora of three-pointers and took an early 11-2 lead, but Denver would weather the storm as the game began to develop. Denver soon tied the game and a strange trend continued.

Denver fought back and took the lead with big dunks and by attacking the paint, like many expect the Clippers to do.

Possession after possession, the Nuggets drove in and passed to the paint, gathering offensive rebound after offensive rebound and making the Clippers offense try to tighten up and defend.

The game was like a role reversal seeing forward Kenneth Faried live up to his nickname “The Manimal,” as he outplayed Jordan on the night.

Grabbing 11 rebounds to go with his 21 points (Jordan had 12 rebounds, but just 7 points), Denver saw a stretch where Faried scored 8 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in just over a minute, as the second quarter drew to a close.

The quarter spoke for the game as a whole: Faried kept attacking the paint until Los Angeles fell largely behind.

The Nuggets followed Faried’s lead in attacking the paint, scoring 44 points down low (compared to the Clippers’ 22), getting 14 offensive rebounds (compared to the Clippers’ 9), and having 19 fast break points (compared to the Clippers’ 9). Denver simply ran, attacked and dunked the Clippers into submission.

Denver, now 23-35, picked up their first win in Los Angeles, now 37-20, against the Clippers since February 2, 2012 by doing the what fans expect the Clippers to do.

The Nuggets had lost three straight, but what a win this must feel like. Being the fast paced team of old and beating a team at their own game.