Nuggets Vs. Clippers Final Score: Big 4th Quarter Propels Los Angeles To 109-105 Win

The Los Angeles Clippers overcame a six-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter with a strong effort at the offensive end and prevailed 109-105 over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night. Chauncey Billups had a huge night for the Clippers, scoring 32 points on 11-20 shooting (6-12 from beyond the arc). And point guard Chris Paul hit eight of 12 shots after a cold 1-7 start, finishing with 25 points and seven assists.

Related: Clippers vs. Nuggets: Lob City meets Team City

Nene Hilario led the Nuggets with 18 points and nine boards, while Andre Miller scored 16 points and added 10 assists. Danilo Gallinari, Rudy Fernandez and Al Harrington also scored in double figures.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs, and for more on the Clippers, visit Clips Nation. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

VIDEO: Rudy Fernandez Nails An Amazing Buzzer-Beater Vs. Clippers

Nuggets Vs. Clippers Score Update: Denver Leads 83-77 Through 3 Quarters

The Denver Nuggets have not been able to expand much on a two-point halftime lead over the Los Angeles Clippers, but they do carry a 83-77 lead into the fourth quarter. Chauncey Billups has had a big night in his return to Denver, with 26 points on 9-17 shooting from the field. He's hit five of 10 three-point attempts.

Related: Clippers vs. Nuggets: Lob City meets Team City

Danilo Gallinari leads the Nuggets with 15 points, and Andre Miller has scored 14 to go along with eight assists. Al Harrington and Nene Hilario also are in double figures for Denver.

The Nuggets are shooting 50.8% compared to LA's 41.8%, but the Clippers have kept close by shooting 11-23 from beyond the arc.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs, and for more on the Clippers, visit Clips Nation. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Nuggets Vs. Clippers Score Update: Denver Has A 53-51 Lead At The Half

In what has been a closely contested game on Sunday night, the Denver Nuggets have a narrow 53-51 lead on the visiting Los Angeles Clippers at halftime. The Nuggets are without point guard Ty Lawson, but Andre Miller has done a solid job as his replacement, scoring 12 points on 5-9 shooting with four assists. Nene Hilario is also in double figures with 10 points.

Related: Clippers vs. Nuggets: Lob City meets Team City

Chauncey Billups and Blake Griffin are in double figures for Los Angeles, with 15 points and 12 points, respectively. Chris Paul struggled to find his shooting touch in the half and finished just 1-7 from the field, though he does have three assists.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs, and for more on the Clippers, visit Clips Nation. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Nuggets Vs. Clippers Preview: Denver Looks To Extend Win Streak To Seven

One thing about tonight's game between the Denver Nuggets (14-5) and Los Angeles Clippers (10-6) is for certain: it will be highly entertaining. Though the match up will be overshadowed nationally between the first meeting this season of the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, it may be hard, from an entertainment standpoint, to beat the pairing of the "bombs away" Nuggets and the team affectionally known as Lob City.

Ty Lawson Injury Update: Nuggets PG Limited In Practice On Saturday

The Denver Nuggets haven't let injuries hamper this season's effort so far, as they are currently on a six-game winning streak. However, Ty Lawson, Rudy Fernandez, Arron Afflalo and Nene have all missed time this season due to injury. On Friday, both Afflalo and Fernandez returned while Lawson was the only one to sit out the game due to injury. He might be able to make his return on Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers after being limited in practice on Saturday, reports Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post.

Lawson is dealing with and ankle injury and played just 15 minutes against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Lawson is averaging 15.7 points, 6.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game this season. Andre Miller will likely head back to the bench with Lawson and Afflalo both back in action.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Nuggets Vs. Raptors Recap: Nuggets Coast To 15-Point Victory

The Denver Nuggets jumped out to a 22-point halftime lead over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, and didn't face much of a comeback as they cruised a 96-81 victory that improved their home record to 7-2 on the season. The Nuggets were paced on the night by Rudy Fernandez, Danilo Gallinari and Nene, who scored 23, 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Nuggets Vs. Raptors Score Update: Nuggets Crushing Raptors At Half

The Denver Nuggets flexed their home court muscles in the first half against the Toronto Raptors, going into the locker room with a 54-32 halftime lead. The bulk of that lead comes from the first quarter, where the Nuggets rolled over a sluggish Raptors team to the tune of 26-12. The Nuggets were led in the half by Danilo Gallinari and Rudy Fernandez, who both dropped in 13 points, with Fernandez making three shots from downtown.

Raptors Vs. Nuggets: Arron Afflalo, Rudy Fernandez Will Try To Play, According To Report

The Denver Nuggets might not be short players on Friday night against the Toronto Raptors, which seemed to be the case on Thursday. Guards Arron Afflalo and Rudy Fernandez will attempt to play through their injures, according to head coach George Karl.

#Nuggets coach George Karl says he thinks @Arron_Afflalo and @rudy5fernandez are going to try to play tonight vs. Toronto.

— Aaron J. Lopez (@Lopez_Nuggets) January 27, 2012

If Afflalo does play, he would likely start in the back court with Andre Miller. But we'll also need to wait on what happens with Ty Lawson. He didn't participate in shootaround and is still doubtful for the game.

Afflalo has missed the last two games due to a groin injury while Fernandez' Achilles has kept him out for four of the last five games.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visitDenver Stiffs. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Andrea Bargnani Injury: Raptors Center Out Indefinitely After Re-Injuring Left Calf

Toronto Raptors star center Andrea Bargnani has taken his basketball game to new heights this year, but injuries are now holding him back from making a significant imprint on the NBA. After re-injuring his left calf during the team's overtime win in Utah on Wednesday night, rumors had already started to swirl that he would miss some time, including Friday night's game against the Denver Nuggets. Now ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that an MRI revealed no significant damage to Bargnani's calf, but that the team has ruled their starting center out indefinitely anyways.

Bargnani himself called the injury "much worse" than the first calf injury he suffered, which forced him to miss six games earlier this season, but the whole situation is just an unfortunate turn of events for a player who finally started to live up to his draft status as the No. 1 overall pick. He returned two games ago for the Raptors and scored 27 of his 36 points in the second half to them beat the Phoenix Suns and snap a six-game losing streak, but couldn't make it through the next win over the Utah Jazz.

Through 13 games in the 2011-12 NBA season, Bargnani is averaging career highs in field goal percentage (47.6), free throw attempts (6.4), free throw percentage (84.3), rebounds per game (6.3), assists per game (2.1) and points per game (23.5). Suffice it to say the Denver Nuggets are fortunate to meet the Toronto Raptors without him on Friday night.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visitDenver Stiffs. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Ty Lawson's Injury Could Be Good News For Julyan Stone

Ty Lawson is doubtful for Friday's game against the Toronto Raptors and that could mean extensive playing time for rookie Julyan Stone. Stone is part of the Denver Nuggets' three-deep rookie class that also includes Kenneth Faried and Jordan Hamilton. While none of the three has received a huge chunk of playing time over the season, Stone will likely see more of the court on Friday because Lawson will be out and Arron Afflalo and Rudy Fernandez are also likely unable to play.

Nate Timmons at Denver Stiffs believes this will allow Stone to take over as the backup point guard to Andre Miller and play on the court at the same time. He also wants to see how Stone reacts when he is running the court with Miller on the bench:

I'm most interested to see what Stone will do with Miller on the bench. Against the Kings, he was passed the ball a of times right after he got it. But once the reserves all entered the game, Stone seemed more at ease and started running the show on the floor.

Stone was an undrafted rookie free agent out of UTEP this offseason.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs. Raptors information is available at Raptors HQ. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Raptors Vs. Nuggets Preview: Denver Looks To Make It Six Straight Wins

The Denver Nuggets (13-5) wrapped up their five-game road trip with a blowout win over the Sacramento Kings, but the biggest victory is the fact that they won all five of those games. A perfect road trip for the Nuggets leads them back to the friendly confines of the Pepsi Center for a Friday matchup against the Toronto Raptors (6-13).

In the last 10 games, Danilo Gallinari has stepped up his already impressive scoring numbers by pouring in 19.8 points on a sparkling 51.8 percent shooting during that span. He has scored 20+ points in three straight games, highlighted by a 37-point performance in a win against the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony on Saturday.

Related: Tip-In: "Preaching Patience" - Raptors' Rebuild May Take a Lot Longer Than Anticipated

After dropping eight games in a row, the Raptors have now won two straight, including an exciting double-overtime win on the road against the Utah Jazz. Here is the reaction to that win, along reaction to the possibility that Andrea Bargnani will miss more time with a strained calf:

In what has been undoubtedly the Raptors' hardest earned victory of the year, you have to applaud the effort all around. From Kleiza continuing to drive the offense without Bargnani around, to Jose Calderon stepping up and hitting clutch shots, the offense didn't completely collapse without Bargnani. On defense, James Johnson was a constant threat to block your shot and Kleiza is now providing the Raptors valuable minutes as an additional power forward.

Nevertheless, this team without Andrea Bargnani will continue to struggle. We've seen it this year already how much they miss his offense, his help and pick and roll defense, and now surprisingly, his heart.

Game day/time: Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, 7:00 p.m. MT

Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs. Raptors information is available at Raptors HQ. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Nuggets Schedule 2012: Denver Returns Home After Successful Road Trip

The Denver Nuggets head into the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the league, having won five straight games, all of them on the road. They finally return home on Friday night, where they'll look to continue their recent string off success. Despite the winning streak, the Nuggets have plenty of work to do in their division, as they're still a couple of games behind first place Oklahoma City.

Related: Golden Nuggets: When will 'then' be 'now'?

The team's full schedule is available here, and this is a look at the week ahead:

Jan. 27: vs. Toronto Raptors (7:00 p.m. MT, Altitude)
The Raptors have won two in a row, though they're still stuck at the bottom of the Atlantic division. Leading scorer Andrea Bargnani recently returned from an injury that caused him to miss six games.

Related: Tip In: : "He’s Back" Raptors Snap Losing Streak on the Back of Bargnani’s 36 Point Performance

Jan. 29: vs. Los Angeles Clippers (6:00 p.m. MT, Altitude)
The addition of Chris Paul to the Clippers certainly has upped the excitement level around the team, and they're off to a solid start to the season. Blake Griffin leads the way in scoring and rebounding.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Nuggets Vs. Raptors: Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo And Rudy Fernandez Injured For Denver

According to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post, the Denver Nuggets (13-5) may be without the services of a trio of major contributors when they face the Toronto Raptors (6-13) on Friday. Hochman reports G Ty Lawson, G Arron Afflalo and G Rudy Fernandez are all struggling with injuries and have a chance to miss all three Friday night.

Lawson, recently hit with a sprained left ankle, is "doubtful" to play, while Fernandez and Afflalo -- both players who missed Tuesday's game -- are "doubtful" and a "gametime decision" respectively.

The 24-year-old Lawson is second on the team with 582 minutes, 267 points and 110 assists. Afflalo, in his fifth NBA season, has shot .432 in the 2011-2012 season -- his worst since becoming a starter in 2009.

For more on this game and the Nuggets teams, visit Nuggets blog Denver Stiffs and check out SB Nation NBA for more news and notes around the league.