Clippers’ 17-game winning streak ends with a loss in Denver

The Clippers’ franchise-record winning streak of 17 games has ended with a 92-78 loss to the Nuggets in Denver on Tuesday night.

The Nuggets scored 10 of the final 11 points of the third quarter to open a 16-point lead and cruised to a 92-78 victory at the Pepsi Center.

The Clippers shot only 38.5% from the field, including a woeful five of 29 (17.2%) from three-point range. They were led by Blake Griffin and Eric Bledsoe with 12 points each while Chris Paul finished with 10 points and six assists.

Denver didn’t shoot much better at 45.1% from the field and 30.4% from long range, but it was enough. The Nuggets had six players in double figures, led by Danilo Gallinari with 17 points.

It figured that this would be a tough week for the streak to continue, with Denver owning the best home record in the NBA, now at 10-1. The Clippers play next against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland on Wednesday, with a game against the Lakers on Friday. Getting to 20 wins in a row would have been very difficult.

Then again, the Clippers had the best road record in the league going into the game, and still do at 10-4.

The Clippers (25-7) no longer have the NBA’s best overall record, with the Oklahoma City Thunder (24-6) owning that by percentage points: .800 to .781.

By comparison, the longest current winning streak in the NBA now belongs to the San Antonio Spurs at six. They also have the second-best road record at 12-6.

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