Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 119-102 win over the Nuggets

The Clippers ran past the Nuggets, 119-102, inside Staples Center on Tuesday night. It was the Clippers’ first game since starting power forward Blake Griffin had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee — the procedure was performed Tuesday — and the Nuggets were playing their third game in four days.

That allowed the Clippers to control the game from start to finish. Below are five takeaways from the action.

1. Three and out

The Clippers’ other four starters — Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Luc Mbah a Moute and DeAndre Jordan — did not miss a beat in Griffin’s third missed game of the season. They started with Paul Pierce and were all on the bench as the second unit coasted to the lopsided win in the fourth quarter.

In just three quarters of play the starters combined for 77 points and 20 of the Clippers’ 32 assists. Redick finished with a game-high 27, Paul had 16, Mbah a Moute had 14 and Jordan added 13 while grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.

No Clippers bench player was in double-figures until Marreese Speights hit a three with about six minutes left in the game. By that time the Clippers already had 109 points.

“I thought we played really hard, we played at a great pace, we attacked every possession,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said. “The floor was spaced and the ball was moving.”

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Clippers guard J.J. Redick (4) drives to the basket while being defended by Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic (15) in the second quarter at Staples Center.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) guards Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton (5) during the Clippers’ 119-102 win at the Staples Center on Tuesday.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Clippers forward Paul Pierce guards Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler during the Clippers’ 119-102 win at the Staples Center on Tuesday. Pierce started the game in the absence of Blake Griffin, who is recovering from knee surgery.  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Clippers center Marreese Speights (5) points the bench after making a three point basket during the Clippers 119-102 win over the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler (21) is defended by Clippers forward Paul Pierce (34) and guard Chris Paul (3) in the first half at Staples Center.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Clippers forward Paul Pierce (34) knocks the ball away from Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic (15) in the first half at Staples Center.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Clippers Coach Doc Rivers with Clippers forward Wesley Johnson (33) during a timeout against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (6) slam dunks the ball while being defended by Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic (15) in the first quarter at Staples Center.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) is upset after receiving a delay of game foul for hanging on the rim against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

2. On guard

The Nuggets were winners of three straight before Tuesday, and that was largely due to the shooting and scoring of their young backcourt. But Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Harris were completely shut down by the Clippers, scoring three total points in a combined 44 minutes.

Mudiay, who was mostly guarded by Paul, finished with zero points and missed all nine of his shot attempts. Harris, blanketed by Redick for much of the contest, netted three points and finished one for six from the field.

“It’s not just one-on-one defense, it was team defense tonight. Other guys stepping up, helping,” Paul said. “To tell you the truth Mudiay got by me a lot of times but when he got into the lane he had to see” Jordan.

3. Model of efficiency

Paul played just 26 minutes but finished with 16 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds, nearly a three-quarter triple-double.

The veteran point guard recorded the first 20-point, 20-assist game of his career earlier this season, and was well on his way to that before sitting out the entire fourth. Paul’s big numbers can partly be attributed to Griffin’s absence, as he was the starting lineup’s only ball-handler and the group rarely plays in isolation without Griffin on the floor.

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4. J.J.’s J

Redick was the first Clippers starter to compensate for Griffin’s absence, as he was red hot out of the gate.

He scored 11 first-quarter points, eight more in the second and then helped the Clippers methodically hold a sizable lead in the second half. Redick made his first six threes before and thought Griffin’s injury had something to do with his increased production.

“I said this last year, Blake uses a lot of possessions and someone else has to use those possessions,” Redick said. “And it’s not like you have to play outside of yourself. You can’t replicate or do what Blake does. You just have to be great at what you do.”

On Tuesday, he was exactly that.

5. Revolving door

Rivers started Pierce in Griffin’s place because of the Nuggets’ big front line of center Nikola Jokic with versatile forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler.

But that does not mean Pierce is the permanent starter while Griffin is on the shelf. Rivers expects to plug either Pierce, Brandon Bass or Austin Rivers into the starting lineup. He will make the decision based on opponent and individual matchups, among other factors.

“Sometimes I’ll just look at our team, forget the opponent on certain nights, and say if we start this lineup I think it’s tougher for them,” Doc Rivers said before Tuesday’s game. “So opponent-based at the end of the day, but that’s how we’ll do it.”

jesse.dougherty@latimes.com

Twitter: @dougherty_jesse