Nuggets Met Their Match in Maggette

The Denver Nuggets, who have gone eight consecutive seasons without reaching the playoffs, had hoped to make Corey Maggette a part of their rebuilding efforts. They strongly considered making a bid for the Clipper small forward last summer when Maggette was a restricted free agent.

But General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe, believing the Clippers would match any deal Maggette signed, never made a formal offer, even though the two sides had discussed terms. Maggette then signed a six-year, $42-million offer sheet with the Utah Jazz, which the Clippers matched to retain him.

But Maggette apparently still feels jilted by the Nuggets.

He scored a season-high 29 points Friday night in the Clippers’ 104-102 overtime victory at Denver, making 11 of 14 shots, and also took 10 rebounds.

Though he said afterward that he was “just in a rhythm, just trying to follow the flow,” Maggette also added, “I told Kiki I was going to make him pay for not getting me, so that’s what I did.”

And later, making his way out of the Pepsi Center toward the team bus, he told a Nugget official, “I told you guys you never should have let me get away.”

Said Nugget Coach Jeff Bzdelik, whose team lost for the first time in three home games: “Corey Maggette was very motivated. I’ll just leave it at that.”

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A key component in the Clippers’ first victory in three games was their ability, after some early prodding from Coach Mike Dunleavy, to resist the urge to let the Nuggets dictate the pace of the game with their racehorse style.

“We did a good job of not getting into their game, of pounding the ball into the post and winning down low,” Dunleavy said. “The first half, I had to keep reining our guys in because we kept trying to get up and down with [the Nuggets] and shooting the ball in the open court, which was a big advantage for them.

“We just had to take timeouts and tell our guys, ‘Look, only take them when they’re there. When we have the advantage, take them. Other than that, we’ve got to take care of business.’ ”

The Clippers scored 62 points in the paint. And though they gave up 29 fast-break points, they gave up only 15 after the first quarter. The Nuggets made 52.2% of their shots in the first quarter, only 34.2% the rest of the way.

“For the most part, our guys played hard,” Dunleavy said. “Defensively, we did some really good things in the half court.”