Clippers look to stop November swoon against struggling Nuggets
Published:
Daniel Coyle, American Sports Correspondent | November 24, 2015
It has been a brutal November for Los Angeles Clippers, losers of seven of their last nine after opening the season with four straight wins.
The Clippers will look to reverse their fortunes and halt a three-game straight up losing streak when they begin a stretch of five games in seven days on Tuesday, visiting the Denver Nuggets as 6.5-point favourites in NBA betting at Coral.
Los Angeles travels to the Mile High City following yet another listless performance, this time against Toronto Raptors, who effectively shut down the Clippers’ dynamic duo of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul on Sunday, holding the pair to a combined 22 points in a 91-80 win, and handing LA their fourth outright loss as favourites in the last fortnight.
LA have been well and truly clipped
California club the Clippers look to be feeling the effects of their demoralizing 124-117 home loss to the undefeated Golden State Warriors last Thursday night, in which they blew a 23-point first-half lead.
The Warriors dominated in the second-half of that contest, particularly in the fourth quarter, when they drained eight of nine from behind the three-point line to seal the win.
LA’s second-half woes continued on Saturday, mustering just 18 fourth-quarter points while being held scoreless in the final four minutes of a 102-91 loss to Portland, followed by a meek 34-point first-half performance against Toronto.
Nuggets need home win
Los Angeles face a Nuggets squad also looking to break out of a three-game losing slide.
Denver were the Warriors’ most recent victim, falling to the defending champs by a 118-105 score, recording a push as a 13-point underdog.
The Nuggets have performed well when pegged as big underdogs, going 5-2-1 ATS in eight games as underdogs of six or more points. They have struggled in recent meetings with the Clippers, losing four of their last five SU, but are 3-1 ATS in their last four, with the point total playing UNDER in each of those contests.
Warriors chase record victory
Golden State will vie for a record-setting 16th straight win to start the season on Tuesday night, when they host rivals Los Angeles Lakers as huge 16.5-point favourites.
The Dubs cracked the 110-point mark for the 10th time this season in their win over Denver, led by reigning MVP Stephen Curry, who leads the NBA in points per game, with 32.7, and has already tallied an eye-popping 74 three-pointers through the club’s first 15 contests.
Conversely, it has been a rough start for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, SU winners in just two of their first 13, and currently riding a three-game SU and ATS losing streak.
Lakers star lacking support
Bryant has averaged 16.3 points per game, but has had little help from a Lakers team that has scored 100 or more points just once in their last eight.
Los Angeles have had no luck on the road, winning just four of their last 31, while their current five-game losing streak in visits to the Bay Area suggests that history will be in the making on Tuesday night.
Following their meeting with the Lakers, the Warriors play eight of their next nine on the road, starting with a visit to Phoenix to face the Suns on Friday. LA Lakers, meanwhile, continue their stretch of 10 games of their next 11 on the road, visit the Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
