Harris on clutch win: “There’s a different vibe right now”

Gary Harris didn’t LOS know what to call his celebration, but that wasn’t the point.

All that mattered as the Denver Nuggets basked in the glow of their gutsy seasonopening win was that they’d won — on the road, no less — against a team they need to beat to realize their goals.

“Sauntering? Whatever y’all want to call it,” Harris said. “I felt good, though.”

Harris had reason to after burying a stepback midrange jumper over the outstretched arm of Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell with 44 seconds left to give the Nuggets a 9995 cushion. The Clippers called a timeout but would never recover as the Nuggets hung on for a 10798 road victory.

“It’s over,” Harris said, revealing what he was thinking as he skipped up the court toward his jubilant bench. “Game over.”

Harris forced a turnover immediately after his clutch bucket, bookending a sequence that exemplified the win. Unlike last year, when their defense ranked in the bottom third of the league, the Nuggets stepped up at the defensive end holding the Clippers to 40 percent shooting, including just 8 of 28 from the 3point line. The effort, rotations and communication were all evident here Wednesday night.

“Last year, I don’t know if we win this game,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “For us to have the poise and the ability to execute down the stretch, even though we’re down, shows the poise and maturity. Let’s be honest, we’re the thirdyoungest team in the NBA.”

Nothing went particularly right for the Nuggets, save for the final five minutes. Their shooting was off (38 percent), point guard Jamal Murray had just seven points on 3of12 shooting from the field and Paul Millsap couldn’t buy a bucket. But Millsap, who was 1 for 7 from the field and 9 for 12 from the free throw line, dominated on the glass with 16 rebounds and found ways to impact the game on the defensive end.

“I’ve been around for a while,” Millsap said. “I know when things aren’t going well, when shots aren’t falling, I try to do something else.”

The Nuggets needed every big body they could throw at reserve center Boban Marjanovic, who feasted on Denver’s interior in the fourth quarter. He finished with 18 points, 10 in the final period. His pummeling dunks were the reason the Clippers were up 9284 with just over five minutes left.

“He is a very large human being who presents problems for anybody,” Malone quipped.

The takeaway from the victory was the Nuggets’ resiliency. Malone and the players all made note of it, citing a maturity that just wasn’t there during the last two seasons.

“There’s just no panic,” Murray said. “I think we’re a lot calmer compared to other games where we start to rush things or not trust each other in certain situations.”