<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LOS ANGELES?Never before in their skimpy playoff history have the Clippers held a playoff series lead. But their 98-87 victory Monday night has put the Denver Nuggets down, 2-0, with this first-round series heading to Denver for Game 3 on Thursday. Another ferocious defensive effort buoyed the Clippers. They held Denver under 100 points for the second time in this series, this time 13 points below the Nuggets? regular-season average of 100.9 points per game. Teams that have won the first two games in a playoff series have gone on to close out their opponent 94.6 percent of the time. Denver never led after Marcus Camby made the opening basket of the game. The Clippers scored the next eight in a row. The lead was as high as 25 and hovered between 16 and 20 for most of the second half. Denver reserve Greg Buckner?s late three-point shower made the score at the end closer than the final result appeared. Now the Clippers will practice today before flying out later this afternoon to Denver for Games 3 and 4, Thursday and Saturday. ?We definitely like our chances,? said Clippers All-Star forward Elton Brand, who finished with a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double, and x three blocked shots. ?We have to play like we played tonight. We still had some lulls. Some bad shot selection. But other than that, we played great.? The Clippers held the Nuggets to 34.2 percent shooting from the field, which was better than the 38.5 percent they allowed Denver in Game 1. Denver?s top offensive player, Carmelo Anthony, scored 16 points, nine fewer than in Game 1. After shooting 5 of 15 from the floor Monday, Anthony is shooting 14 of 41 from the field in this series. ?It?s a collective effort,? Brand said. ?He?s an All-Star caliber player. No one person can shut him down.? Clippers swingman Quinton Ross played an integral part in defending Anthony and chipped in on the offensive end, contributing 10 points, as one of six Clippers scorers in double figures. Although the Clippers ranked among the top three teams in the regular season in opponent field-goal percentage, Dunleavy has never claimed anything beyond the Clippers being a solid defensive unit. ?Everybody has to be a part of it,? he said. ?I don?t know that we?re a great individual defensive team.? Sam Cassell orchestrated the Clippers? offense brilliantly with 11 assists and 13 points. Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley led the Clippers with 21 points. ?We had to get this second game,? Mobley said. ?They kept fighting They?re the kind of team that will come back and get you.? </div> Source
