Main man: Denver's Nikola Jokic is the 2021 NBA regular season MVP
Nikola Jokic will be a marked man if he suits up for the Nuggets against the Clippers on Friday, Jan. 13. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Steph Chambers

KEY POINTS

  • The Nuggets are favored to continue their winning roll against the struggling Clippers
  • The Clippers are urged to contain the Nuggets' top contributors on the floor
  • Paul George remains out for the Clippers when they host the Nuggets

Unless the Los Angeles Clippers can find a way to shackle the Denver Nuggets, their previous win over the Dallas Mavericks may be short-lived even if they hold a home-court advantage.

The Clippers brace for the streaking Nuggets on Friday, January 13, at the Crypto.com Arena in a meeting of Western Conference teams looking to maintain their respective winning runs.

The Clippers are coming off an emphatic 113-101 win over the Mavericks with Kawhi Leonard leading the way.

That win also snapped the six-game skid of the Clips.

"I thought it was a good game for us with the way we competed and scrapped for 48 minutes," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. "And then Kawhi controlling the whole game and being very efficient with 33 points on 12 shots."

Leonard hauled 33 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Backing him up was Normal Powell who lent a helping hand with 27 markers and four boards.

The Clippers are scoring 110.9 points per 100 possessions and are shooting 46.1% from the field, 23rd in the league.

They are allowing opposing teams only 111.7 points per 100 possessions, currently No. 7 in the NBA today.

On the other hand, the Nuggets are on a tear, collaring their fourth straight victory at the expense of an undermanned Phoenix Suns quintet, 126-97.

It was also their 12th straight win at home.

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Jokic starred for the Nuggets with a near-triple double performance of 21 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists.

Bones Hyland supported him with 21 points and four assists, while Jamal Murray finished with 16 markers and six assists.

"They posted up Jokic early and just flattened us out (defensively)," Suns coach Monty Williams said. "And he does a really good job of finding the open man or scoring."

The Nuggets have the best offensive rating in the league right now with 118.1 points per 100 possessions.

Denver also paces the league in three-point percentage (40.0%) and assists per 100 possessions (29.0).

In their regular seasons series, Denver holds a 2-0 advantage with two wins (114-104 and 122-91).

The Nuggets are -4.5 spread favorites to prevail over the Clippers, who are at +4.5.

Meanwhile, the moneyline for this matchup is -200 for Denver and +170 for Los Angeles.

The Clippers will try to go for another win against a hot Nuggets quintet on Friday, with the tip-off set for 10:00 PM ET.

The game will be telecast via ESPN, ALT and BSSC with live streaming on fuboTV.

Kawhi Leonard LA Clippers
Kawhi Leonard will need to have a good all-around game when the Clippers host the Nuggets on Friday, Jan. 13. Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images
NBA Basketball