INGLEWOOD, Calif.
The Clippers closed their preseason the way a team with rotation questions wants to close it: with balance, ball movement and a third quarter that settled the argument. Los Angeles beat the Denver Nuggets 122-110 at Intuit Dome on Wednesday night, outscoring Denver 38-26 in the third to build a lead the bench protected, and finishing with scoring spread across the whole rotation rather than one star carrying the night.
The shooting told the story of the gap. The Clippers made 51.7 percent of their shots and 15 three-pointers at a 45.5 percent clip, dealt 35 assists and turned the ball over only 12 times. Denver shot a respectable 47.7 percent but made just 11 threes, hit only 17 of 30 free throws and gave the ball away 17 times. In a preseason finale, those are the numbers coaches circle - not the score, but the shape underneath it.
A Third Quarter That Broke the Game Open
The first half was a genuine contest. The teams were level at 24 after one quarter, and the Clippers took only a 58-55 edge into halftime after a 34-31 second period. Then came the stretch that decided it: a 38-point third quarter, built on the same formula as the rest of the night - quick decisions, extra passes and threes falling from multiple spots on the floor. Denver's 26 points in the period were not a collapse; Los Angeles simply scored at a pace the Nuggets' second-half lineups could not match.
The fourth quarter belonged to evaluation. Denver won it 29-26 as both staffs emptied their benches, and the Clippers' lead, built on the third-quarter surge and a game-high margin of 16, was never seriously threatened in the closing minutes.
Balance, Led by Hachimura and the New Pieces
Rui Hachimura led the Clippers with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including three three-pointers, plus five rebounds and two steals. With several established scorers unavailable - Brandon Ingram, Bradley Beal and Max Strus were among those who did not play - Hachimura's role as a primary healthy option was the night's clearest preview of how this roster may have to score early in the regular season.
Behind him, the production came in layers. Baba Miller scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 21 minutes. Darius Garland ran the offense with 14 points and a team-high seven assists. Derrick Jones Jr. added 14, rookie Keaton Wagler started and finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists in a team-high 28 minutes with no turnovers, and Jalen Pickett chipped in 10 points and five assists off the bench. Isaiah Jackson started at center and contributed nine points, five rebounds and three assists, while veteran Brook Lopez added nine in just eight minutes.
Wagler's line may matter most in the long run. A lottery pick asked to play real minutes immediately because of the injury picture, he looked composed running an offense that produced 35 assists - the surest sign a preseason finale was played the right way.
Denver's Starters Were Sharp, Then Done
The Nuggets' night split cleanly in two. Their starters were efficient in limited minutes and were shut down around halftime: Jamal Murray scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in about 17 minutes, and Nikola Jokic, in an unusually quiet scoring night, had five points but still produced six rebounds and seven assists in his short stint. Aaron Gordon added eight points and six rebounds.
The second half belonged to Denver's depth, and two young forwards used it. Trevon Brazile was the game's top scorer with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including three three-pointers, and Cam Whitmore added 17 points off the bench. Julian Strawther scored 11. For a Nuggets team whose championship hopes will again rest on Jokic and Murray, productive preseason minutes from the next wave are the real return on a night like this - even in a 12-point loss.
What It Means With the Opener a Week Away
This was the Clippers' preseason finale, and it leaves them with a clear identity question answered in the affirmative: even short-handed, this group can generate good shots by moving the ball, and its young players - Wagler, Miller, Pickett - can be trusted with real responsibility. The health of the absent scorers remains the variable that will define the first month, but Wednesday showed the floor does not drop out without them.
Denver has one more exhibition, Friday against the Lakers, with its starters expected to be managed carefully again after Murray's sharp, brief outing. The Nuggets leave Inglewood with the opposite kind of clarity: their stars need only minutes management, and their bench has shown it can score. When the regular season opens on October 21, neither team will remember the score of this game. Both will remember what their rotations looked like - and on that measure, Wednesday night at Intuit Dome gave each staff more answers than questions.
More from Wednesday's preseason board: Duren leads Detroit past Minnesota and our Clippers-Nuggets preview.
