The Clippers went on a 15-4 run in the middle of the first quarter, but their cause was aided when Denver’s leading scorer, Nikola Jokic, was ejected. He led the Nuggets with 19 points despite playing only 20 minutes.

The Clippers led by 11 when the 7-foot Jokic was ejected in the third quarter for screaming at an official for the second time. Malone said he wasn’t sure what Jokic had yelled to draw the ejection.

„You’d have to ask him,“ Malone said.

Jokic did not make himself available to reporters after the game.

MISSING BIG PIECE

Jokic leads the Nuggets in scoring (18.2) and rebounding (10.0), and in his last five games had averaged 26.6 points and 12.8 rebounds.

„He’s our best player,“ Morris said. „When you lose him, it’s tough. He usually initiates a lot of the offense. We couldn’t call him back.“

ESPN