DENVER _ In the city a mile high, and by margin a mile wide, this was bound to happen.
The Clippers and Coach Doc Rivers essentially conceded Thursday's game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center when they left Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan at home for rest. On the second night of a back-to-back, the remaining Clippers lost, 129-114.
It was the Clippers' third straight loss and made the playoff picture all the less favorable.
The Clippers failed to gain ground on fourth-place Utah, which remains three games ahead of the Clippers in the Western Conference after losing to Cleveland. What's more startling is that the Clippers have only a half-game edge on Oklahoma City, which sits in sixth after blasting Toronto on Thursday, and a one-game lead on seventh-place Memphis.
That first-round matchup with Utah that looked like a lock earlier in the week has gotten more complicated.
With LeBron James and the Cavaliers visiting on Saturday, the Clippers could be in a tie for sixth by the middle of the weekend.
Rather than try to maintain pace in the crowded West, the Clippers used Thursday's game as sort of an exhibition for players who have reached, "Oh, he's still on the team?" status.
Paul Pierce, who had not played since his Feb. 5 sendoff in Boston, played 16 minutes and scored five points, while rookie Brice Johnson played the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, made a basket, blocked a shot, grabbed a rebound and had an assist.
J.J. Redick led the Clippers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Chris Paul finished with 18 points and 14 assists.
The Clippers fell behind by double digits in the second quarter, however, and never recovered. They trailed by 25 in the fourth period.
The Nuggets were led by a triple-double from emerging star center Nikola Jokic, who posted 17 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
Without Jordan or Griffin available to help slow Jokic, the Clippers were outscored 58-36 in the paint.
It wasn't as though the Clippers caught the Nuggets at full strength. Denver played without key wings Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, both of whom sat out with injuries.
