LA Clippers beat Denver by a score of 115-97, even catching some fans off guard. "We knew the lines in Vegas listed us as favorites," said LA Clippers coach Bob. "And we knew we had a great shot going in, but really expected a more competitive game. I don't know whether we were really that good or whether they had something else on their minds. Whatever, we're thrilled to get this kind of win over an excellent team like Denver."

Said Denver star Graham, "Coach kept yelling at us 'you know you're better than that,' and he was right. We just didn't have the intensity or whatever today, and it showed in our game. The good thing is that we know we can't play much worse than we did out there, and that we could have won if we'd played as good as we're capable of playing."

LA Clippers was led by Celaya (22 points, a block), Hopkins (18 points, 7 boards, 0 assists, 2 steals), Pearson (11 points, 11 boards, 3 assists). Denver was led by Graham (14 points, 7 boards, 0 assists, 2 blocks), Smiley (8 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, a steal, a block), Chopp (13 points, 1 assists, 3 blocks).

With the victory, LA Clippers improve to 22-18 and 13-9 at home. They stay at #2 in the Pacific and advance to #8 overall in the Western Conference. After this loss, Denver stand at 21-20. They remain at #5 in the Northwest and remain at #11 overall in the Western Conference.

box score LA Clippers roster Denver roster