After seven years with the Denver Nuggets, fans at the Pepsi Center greeted Kenyon Martin with a round of boos.
But by the time the final horn sounded Wednesday, Martin and the Clippers turned the boos into silence.
In the final minute, Martin tipped in a Chris Paul miss and picked up a huge blocked shot on the next possession, helping the Clippers pull out a close win.
"He had the two plays of the game," Paul said. "His energy is contagious. He's always out there defending but his tip-in was huge then he followed it up with that block on Ty Lawson, which gave us the opportunity to go up four. Everybody knows who the game ball goes to tonight and I'm sure these Denver fans are a little sad about that."
Martin finished with seven points and one crucial rebound.
"It's about winning basketball. Never quit playing no matter what the situation is," Martin said. "Always put yourself in the position to make plays and I think that was my only rebound tonight so it was perfect timing."
The Clippers will seek their sixth straight win when they visit the Suns on Thursday.
NOTES, QUOTES
On a roll heading into playoffs
--The Clippers seem to be peaking at just the right time.
After winning 13 of their last 15 games, the Clippers find themselves a half game behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division. And after beating Denver, the Clippers shrunk their magic number for home-court advantage down to two.
But at Denver, the Clippers stumbled early, falling behind by as many as 12 points in the first quarter.
Guard Chris Paul said it was the type of game the Clippers might have lost earlier in the year.
"We've had ups and downs throughout this whole season. Throughout the game you realize that when it gets down to those last possessions, whatever else happens throughout the game doesn't matter. I think we are starting to understand that," Paul said. "It's all about the next play and we have been in that situation a number of times where we pretty much know what we want to do."
--Chris Paul ended the game with an uncontested two-handed dunk. It was just Paul's second dunk of the season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He saved my tail." -- Clippers guard Chris Paul on Kenyon Martin's put-back of his miss late in the Clippers' six-point win over Denver Wednesday.
ROSTER REPORT
PLAYER NOTES:
--F Caron Butler kept the Clippers in the game in the first half while the team's offense sputtered. Butler hit 4-of-5 from 3-point range for 14 points in the Clippers' win in Denver.
--G Chris Paul hit 8-of-19 shots despite being under constant pressure from Denver guards Ty Lawson and Andre Miller. Paul finished with a team-high 21 points and eight assists.
--G Nick Young followed a 7-for-10 performance Monday with a 5-for-8 shooting game Wednesday. Young hit 3-of-4 from 3-point range and finished with 13 points off the bench.
--G Mo Williams beat the shot clock with a 35-foot 3-point hoop with under five minutes left. The big shot was one of Williams' four 3's on his way to 19 points off the bench.
