Fresh Clippers Finish It Off

About the best that could be said of the Clippers before Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets was that they no longer were jet-lagged.

A winless two-game trip to Japan had left them last in the Pacific Division, the only Western Conference team without a victory. And a week of practice in Los Angeles had left them eager and energized to resume their season, albeit without power forward Elton Brand, who had suffered a broken foot during the trip.

Their determination was evident in a 104-102 overtime victory over the Nuggets in front of 16,107 in the Pepsi Center.

The Nuggets, who were 2-0 at home after victories over the San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings, seemed on the verge of putting the game away late in the fourth quarter and again in overtime. But the Clippers held them off, thanks in part to a lane violation that took away a Nugget free throw late in the fourth quarter.

Quentin Richardson made a three-point basket from in front of the Nugget bench with 5.5 seconds to play to send the game into overtime, then scored six more points in the extra five-minute period.

Corey Maggette led the Clippers with 29 points, including a layup off a long pass from Chris Wilcox that put the Clippers ahead to stay in overtime.

Wilcox, filling in for Brand, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, Richardson scored 23 points and backup point guard Marko Jaric, erasing memories of a disappointing training camp and start to the season, had 13 points and eight assists.

“You just want to forget about [Japan] and start over fresh,” Richardson said. “It feels good to get a win.

“We’ve got to build on it.”

For the Nuggets, who were playing their third game in four nights, rookie forward Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 30 points. Earl Boykins scored 19, one-named forward Nene had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Andre Miller, like Boykins a former Clipper point guard, had 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Anthony, who scored 14 points in the first quarter but only five in the next three, scored 11 in overtime, making three three-pointers.

“He got on a roll there,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “He caught fire. Some of the shots he took were extremely tough shots -- out of range, way past the three-point line on one, highly contested on another. That’s why he’s going to be a terrific player, but I thought for the most part we did a great job of defending him.”

The Nuggets led in overtime, 96-94, when Anthony pinned a dunk on the front of the rim, then missed a jump shot on the same possession.

At the other end, Richardson posted up and scored on a short jumper to start a 6-0 run that put the Clippers ahead to stay en route to their fourth consecutive victory over the Nuggets. Maggette’s layup made the score 98-96 and Jaric scored on a driving layup to stretch the Clipper lead to four points.

Jaric, penciled in as the starting point guard before his poor training-camp showing, also played a key role on the play that sent the game into overtime, sucking the Nugget defense into the middle before shoveling a pass to Richardson.

“It was a penetration play, he found me and I just took the shot,” Richardson said. “They had to stop the penetration, so I faded to the corner.”

It was Richardson’s only three-point basket in five attempts.

“It felt really good,” he said, “especially seeing how I hadn’t made one the whole night. I didn’t hesitate, though.”