CP3 in midseason form as Clippers down Nuggets, 118-111 in OT

Two Western Conference foes locked horns on Saturday night in Vegas, but it was Los Angeles point guard Chris Paul that lit up the arena, scoring 40 points and leading the Clippers to a 118-111 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets.

In a tightly contested matchup, the two clubs proved to be equals on the floor, trading buckets for much of the game. Less than two percent field goal percentage separated the squads, with LA shooting slightly worse than Denver’s 51.9 percent from the floor, coming in at 49.4 percent.

Paul added 11 assists and 7 rebounds for the Clippers, and was backed by forward Blake Griffin, who tallied 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for head coach Doc Rivers, in his first season at the helm in Los Angeles.

Darren Collison was equally impressive for Los Angeles, adding 27 points of his own.

The Clippers dominated the fast break points, outscoring Denver 18-11, but were outrebounded on the glass 45-37. The Nuggets biggest advantage came on the offensive glass, where they doubled up the Clippers, 12-6.

A pair of 16-point performances led Denver offensively. Anthony Randolph had 16 points to go along with four rebounds and he was joined by guard Evan Fournier, who added six boards to complement his 16 points.

The Clippers outshot the Nuggets from the charity stripe, shooting 71.1 percent, as opposed to Denver’s 63.3 percent on Saturday night.