DENVER, Colorado: The Denver Nuggets stretched their NBA winning streak to 15 games yesterday with a 101-95 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 19 points and eight rebounds as Denver matched their club record winning streak.
They haven’t won 15 straight since the 1969-1970 season, and managed to match the feat despite the absence of starting guard Ty Lawson.
Lawson missed a second straight game with bruised heel, while Wilson Chandler was also sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Kenneth Faried contributed 17 points and nine rebounds, Andre Iguodala added 15 points with eight assists and Denver had 11 points apiece from Andre Miller and JaVale McGee.
The Kings’ brief two-game winning streak was snapped. DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 24 points with 15 rebounds for Sacramento, while John Salmons had 18 points in the defeat.
Salmons drained a three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to pull Sacramento within four points at 99-95, but Miller made two free throws to rebuild Denver’s lead.
The Nuggets have already clinched a playoff berth for the 10th straight season.
Meanwhile, after going 4-4 in their previous eight games, the Los Angeles Clippers were looking to set a tone for themselves before heading out on their last big road trip before the play-offs.
Chris Paul made sure it started with him.
The All-Star guard scored 17 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter after banging his left knee early in the game and the Clippers held off the Brooklyn Nets 101-95 yesterday in a matchup of playoff-bound teams.
“A lot of these games we’ve been letting get away from us,’’ Paul said. “Tonight we found a way to get stops when we needed and we got some big buckets when we needed them.
Paul made 12 of 13 free throws and had 11 assists while going against Deron Williams. Willie Green added 15 points, DeAndre Jordan had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Blake Griffin scored 11 points for the Clippers, who improved to 28-8 at home and won their second in a row.
It was their franchise-record 10th consecutive victory against an Eastern Conference team.
“We played the best in the biggest moments,’’ Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said.
The Nets were led by Brook Lopez and Williams with 18 points each. Gerald Wallace and Joe Johnson added 15 points each and ex-Clipper Reggie Evans had 16 rebounds while holding down Griffin’s numbers.
“It’s tough because we did so well for 3 1/2 quarters, and then the way it ended, I felt it was really our game,’’ Lopez said.
Agencies
