Paul, Griffin Too Much For Beat-Up Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets took a road-trip to Los Angeles on Wednesday, but without four rotation players the Chris Paul and Blake Griffin duo and the so-called Lob City proved to be too much for the Nuggets.

Paul scored a season-best 36 points, while Griffin had 27 points and 12 rebounds.

The good news for the Nuggets was their rookies played great. Jordan Hamilton scored a career-best 18 points and hit 4 of 5 from behind the arc and Kenneth Faried nearly had another double-double and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

The bad news was the Nuggets’ two veterans, Al Harrington and Andre Miller, didn’t have their legs. Combined the two were 6 of 28, missed 10 3-pointers and had only 19 points.

Fans can question George Karl for going with the two down the stretch instead of Hamilton or Faried, but the answer is easy. Hamilton and Faried are rookies and have played a combined 21 games, while Harrington and Miller have the experience and have both played more than 900 games. Did it pan out? No. Would it have panned out with the rookies in there at the end? Maybe, but not likely. It’s a move that any coach would make, and most fans tend to hate – but that is why they are coaching and we aren’t.

If anything the Nuggets need more reliable veterans or give the older fellas a rest. The duo haven’t missed a game this season.

• Arron Afflalo is starting to get into a groove. He made 7 of 10 shots and had another 20-point game and grabbed six rebounds. Afflalo has scored 20 or more points five of the last seven games.