LOS ANGELES — The Clippers put up some big numbers Wednesday night, but maybe the best thing you could say about them is that they ended a losing streak.
In some ways, it's a source of pride they haven't lost more than two consecutive games this season. It's happened just twice — once in December and again in the past five days.
The Clippers will go into the All-Star break knowing they've been able to avoid any prolonged stretches of bad play, and that's something they'll carry into the second half.
After beating the Denver Nuggets 103-95 at Staples Center, they go into the break with 20 wins, the Pacific Division lead and a sense they can still get better.
"It was really important," center DeAndre Jordan said of the victory, which came after losses to San Antonio on Saturday and Golden State on Monday. "We wanted to get a win and gain some momentum going into the All-Star break. We lost our last two, so we knew it was important for us to get this win."
Not that it was easy. The Clippers and Nuggets were tied 16 times, and neither team led by more than five points until the Clips took a 99-92 lead with 2:19 left on a couple of free throws by Blake Griffin.
It was the kind of game in which coach Vinny Del Negro likes to summon one of his favorite phrases about grinding out games.
"I was proud of the way our guys gutted it out," he said. "We were a little frustrated with the last couple of games, and we wanted to come back tonight and play well."
It took a determined effort from a number of players. Chris Paul scored a season-high 36 points on 11 of 16 shooting, Griffin had 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Jordan had 16 boards and tied his career best with nine on the offensive end.
"This was probably one of DeAndre's most active games in a while on the glass," Del Negro said. "He had nine offensive rebounds, had some big blocks at the end for us and did a really good job."
The Clippers also wanted to wipe away a 20-point loss to the Nuggets on Feb. 2.
"This was a team we had split with so far and they pretty much embarrassed us here on national TV last time," Paul said. "So, it was good to get this win and get our confidence going before the break."
Paul went scoreless in the opening quarter, then had 13 points in the second quarter, 27 after three periods and closed with 36. He hit three three-pointers and secured the win with two free throws in the last 37.8 seconds.
Asked if it was odd for a point guard to score that many, Paul said, "It doesn't matter. It's all about winning, and the way that I play, next game I could have six points. I'm not going into the game saying I've got to get 30. I just take what the defense gives me."
The Clippers won't get together again before next Monday, although Griffin and Paul are headed to Orlando for Sunday's All-Star Game. The other players will scatter in various directions.
"I'm very excited," Griffin said. "Last year at All-Star was fun, being able to play in the game. So, this year I'm looking forward to being able to play in the game again, but also looking forward to being able to get some rest."
All of them will, but they also realize there's plenty of work ahead.
"There's a lot of room for improvement," Paul said. "This is what we want. We don't want to peak in the middle of the season. We need to keep getting better.
"This is such a good feeling going into All-Star Weekend with a win. After the break is when things get serious."
