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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets 120-97 on Thursday night (Friday in Manila) in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Paul George scored 19 points and Marcus Morris added 18. The Clippers shot 57% from the field.
Nikola Jokic scored 15 points for the Nuggets, who were coming off a seven-game series with Utah that just ended Tuesday. Jamal Murray, who averaged 31.6 points in the first round and scored at least 50 points twice in that series, finished with just 12 points on 5 of 15 shots. Denver shot just 42 percent.
The Clippers took over in the second quarter, beating the Nuggets 38-20 to take a 69-51 lead at halftime. Los Angeles held Denver to 25 percent shooting in the second quarter.
The Clippers continued to dominate in the third quarter, holding the Nuggets to 16 points on the period and taking a 91-67 lead in the fourth. Los Angeles’ biggest lead in the quarter was 29 points.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Gary Harris returned to the starting lineup. He played limited minutes in the last two games after being out since March with a strained right hip. He finished with five points. … F Jerami Grant scored 11 points on 4 of 4 shots in the first quarter, but scored one point the rest of the game.
Scissors: G Patrick Beverley, who had missed the previous five games with a left calf strain, started. Scored eight points. … Leonard has 15 consecutive playoff games with at least 20 points.
