Denver Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar, left, blocks the shot of Clippers guard John Wall during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Clippers guard Terance Mann, center, shoots as Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown, left and center Nikola Jokic defend during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji, second from right, shoots as Clippers forward Robert Covington, second from left, and guard Reggie Jackson defend during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Clippers center Ivica Zubac, right, shoots as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic defends during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, shoots as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Clippers forward Norman Powell, right, shoots as Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown defends during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Denver Nuggets guard Davon Reed, right, shoots as Clippers forward Robert Covington, left, guard Reggie Jackson, second from left, and forward Nicolas Batum defend during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Denver Nuggets’ Vlatko Cancar takes a shot as the Clippers’ Terance Mann defends during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Denver Nuggets’ Davon Reed shoots as the Clippers’ Robert Covington defends during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers forward Nicolas Batum, rear, blocks a shot by the Denver Nuggets’ Davon Reed during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Denver Nuggets’ Bruce Brown dunks during the first half of their game against the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown celebrates after scoring during the first half of their game against the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Clippers guard John Wall, right, shoots as Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun defends during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Denver Nuggets’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope shoots as Clippers guard Reggie Jackson defends during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr., right, angles for space as Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown defends during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Denver Nuggets’ Davon Reed shoots in front of Clippers guard Reggie Jackson during the first half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers guard Reggie Jackson, right, shoots as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic defends during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Clippers’ Marcus Morris Sr. shoots as the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray fouls him during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Denver Nuggets forward Jack White, right, tries to pass as Clippers guard Terance Mann defends during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Clippers’ Terance Mann shoots as the Denver Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon, left, defends during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown shoots as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji, left, shoots as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Clippers’ Norman Powell, left, is fouled by the Denver Nuggets’ Zeke Nnaji during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Denver Nuggets guard Davon Reed, right, shoots as Clippers guard John Wall defends during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Denver Nuggets’ Vlatko Cancar shoots during the second half of their game against the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Denver Nuggets guard Ish Smith, right, shoots as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the second half on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LOS ANGELES — For a second consecutive game, the Clippers played without their two stars, three if you toss in guard Luke Kennard. And for the umpteenth time this season, Coach Tyronn Lue was asked more about who’s not playing for the Clippers than who is on the floor.
Lue should expect more questions as the trio of Kawhi Leonard (ankle sprain), Paul George (hamstring strain) and Kennard (calf strain) already have all been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Indiana with no return date in sight. Leonard missed his second straight game Friday, while George missed his third straight and Kennard has been out for the last four.
“I mean, it’s part of the game,” Lue said. “We’re not the only team who’s going through it and so, it is what it is. The guys are getting better, they’re progressing pretty well and that’s all we can worry about. We have to worry about tonight.”
There was plenty of concern to go around Friday night against Denver, starting with two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, who had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to lead the Nuggets to a 114-104 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon contributed to the Clippers’ misery with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting.
There also was Jamal Murray’s unrelenting defense on Norman Powell, who couldn’t shake free to make much of a difference offensively. There was Ivica Zubac, who couldn’t stop Jokic and failed to do much in the paint. He had nine rebounds and six points.
The Nuggets came into the game as one of the worst interior defensive teams in the league and gave up 42 points in the paint. But the Clippers, fourth in the league in defended field goal percentage inside of six feet, allowed the Nuggets to score 52 points in the paint.
John Wall, who scored a season-high 23 points, tried to salvage the night for the Clippers in the fourth quarter. He drove the lane to cut the Nuggets’ lead to 89-82, but back-to-back baskets by Vlatko Cancar put Denver back up, 94-82, and the visitors cruised to their second consecutive victory.
The Clippers (11-7) have lost their past two games after winning three in a row.
“I liked our fight but in the second half; we had our chances,” Lue said. “We cut it toseven, I think we had two free throws we missed, and we had cut it to seven.
“Then we had a fast break that got blocked, it went off John’s head. So, we did somegood things and like I said margin for error is very slim so we got to take advantageof those opportunities.”
And then there was the 51.6% free-throw shooting and 14 turnovers. Lue said the margin of the Clippers winning without their big two narrows with each turnover.
“That’s been our Achilles’ heel this year, just turning the ball over,” Lue said. “If we take care of the basketball, we can get good shots and we can score more points. You can’t have 19, 20 turnovers and expect to score the basketball and so that’s our biggest thing.”
The Clippers did not turn the ball over at all in the third quarter and had just three inthe fourth. But, they committed two consecutive turnovers with 6:54 left in the gamewhich gave Denver a 17-point lead. The 11 turnovers they had in the opening halfenabled the Nuggets to springboard to a 64-57 halftime lead.
“We got lot of veterans just trying to figure out what the balance is going to be,” Wallsaid. “We are switching rotations so much because guys being out and then guysbeing on (a) minutes restriction. So, Ty is just doing the best he can to try to find arotation but at the end of the day we just have to go out there and compete.”
