Clippers Routed; Nuggets Clinch Division Title With 134-109 Win

Alex English scored 27 points Saturday night, and the Denver Nuggets clinched the Midwest Division championship with a 134-109 rout of the Clippers.

Denver won 16 of its last 18 games to overcome Dallas’ 5 1/2-game division lead in mid-March.

The Nuggets, in control throughout, also got a standout performance from guard Lafayette Lever, who had 24 points and 13 assists, while Michael Adams and Danny Schayes each scored 20 points. Adams connected on four three-points baskets, extending his National Basketball Assn.-record three-point streak to 43 games.

English ended with 2,000 points for the season. He became the third player in NBA history to score 2,000 or more points in seven straight seasons. The others were Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.

Denver finished 54-28, the best mark in its history, to go with its fourth division title. The Nuggets will meet Seattle in a Western Conference first-round series beginning Thursday or Friday in Denver.

The Clippers (17-64) won just 3 of 41 road games this season. Quintin Dailey led the Clippers with 28 points.

Michael Cage, battling for the league’s rebounding title, had 23 rebounds before he was ejected by referee Ron Garretson with 2:30 left in the third quarter after drawing a technical foul.