Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 109-104 win over Denver
1. His moment of truth arrived with 3:09 left in the game, when the Denver Nuggets began to intentionally foul Montrezl Harrell.
Yes, the Clippers backup center was now involved in the Hack-A-Harrell in the fourth quarter when the game hung in the balance.
It happened three consecutive trips down court, and Harrell responded by going three for six from the free-throw line.
But it did not start well for Harrell, who was sent to the line with the Clippers holding a 99-98 lead. His first free throw was an air ball and he missed his next.
Harrell was fouled again with three minutes left and the score unchanged. He made one of two free throws for a 100-98 Clippers lead.
The next time Harrell was intentionally fouled, with 2:32 left, he made both free throws for a 102-98 Clippers advantage.
He pounded his chest and ran back down on defense, where he then blocked a shot by Mason Plumlee.
It was all part of another night of great work by Harrell.
He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in a reserve role.
Harrell also went six for 13 from the free-throw line.
2. The Clippers had to clean up their sloppy ball handling to give themselves a chance to win. They had 13 turnovers in the first half, but just seven in the second half and only three in the decisive fourth quarter.
3. The Clippers didn’t help themselves with their poor free-throw shooting. They were just 19 for 31 from the line, making 61.3%, and shot just 63.2% from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
But the Clippers did finish the game off by going three for four from the free-throw line.
4. Wesley Johnson played one of his better overall games for the Clippers.
Not only did he have 15 points, six rebounds and three assists off the bench, but Johnson was clutch for the Clippers. His two free throws with 1.4 seconds left sealed the win.
5. The Clippers shared the basketball, looking for the open teammates time and time again. They had 22 assists on 40 made field goals.
Twitter: @BA_Turner
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