In the final game of an exciting Christmas Day slate, the Los Angeles Clippers came out firing to take a 67-48 lead on the Denver Nuggets through two quarters of play at the Staples Center.
Nuggets vs. Clippers score update: Los Angeles soars to 67-48 halftime lead
The Clippers picked up 38 bench points in the first half to grab a comfortable 19-point lead over Denver at the break.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Clippers continue to wreak havoc on the offensive glass with eight offensive rebounds as a team, as sixth man Lamar Odom has chipped in three of his own off the bench. Even on a night when star point guard Chris Paul has hardly bothered to look for his own shot, the Clippers have consistently kept the Nuggets off balance using head coach Vinny Del Negro's sub-heavy rotation.
Reserve Matt Barnes leads all scorers with 15 points despite playing just 16 minutes, while teammate Jamal Crawford has also chipped in 12 of his team's improbable 38 first-half bench points. Eight individual players have already made at least one field goal for the Nuggets, and big man Kosta Koufos leads all Denver players with eight points to his credit on 4-for-4 shooting. Along with hitting just one shot from behind the arc in the opening half, the trio of Danilo Gallinari, Ty Lawson and Andre Iguodala combined to shoot just 5-for-18 from the field through 24 minutes.
See More:
