Five things to take from Clippers’ 111-94 victory over Nuggets

Josh Smith

Josh Smith/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Josh Smith was the player identified as having a shouting match with an assistant coach following Sunday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. Smith showed what he’s made of by coming through with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 18 minutes off the bench.

– One of the first thing that stands out for the Clippers in this victory was their 3-point shooting. They shot 40 percent (8 of 20) from beyond the arc. Even with that, they are shooting just 31.8 percent from 3-point range, which is tied for 22nd in the league with Memphis.

Wesley Johnson had his first start of the season at small forward and came through with a solid effort. He scored 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting – 3 of 4 from 3-point range – in 25 minutes. It will be interesting to see if he starts again Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center.

– It may be early in the season, but when a team that is supposed to be elite has lost three consecutive games and 7 of 9 after starting 4-0, that makes this victory a big one. That it came against a team now 6-9 almost doesn’t matter. If the Clippers – now 7-7 – had lost, it could have had a damaging effect moving forward. These guys are pros, but they’re also human and the pressure would have mounted with another setback.

– It was Doc Rivers who said after the loss to Toronto that his team had been losing its will early. After this one, he gave his team credit for a better effort: “I don’t think we played a perfect game, but we played harder.”