Paul George scored a game-high 24 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers hammered the visiting Denver Nuggets 132-103 on Friday night.

George, who struggled offensively in the previous two games with 11 and seven points, connected on 6-of-8 3-pointers and 9-of-15 overall from the floor as the Clippers won their third straight game.

Kawhi Leonard contributed 19 points, Montrezl Harrell had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Lou Williams finished with 17 points for Los Angeles, which had seven players score in double figures. Williams hit 5 of 7 shots from behind the arc.

Reggie Jackson scored all 10 of his points in the first half and also tallied recorded eight rebounds and seven assists. Landry Shamet chipped in 12 points.

The win allowed Los Angeles to pull into a second-place tie with Denver in the Western Conference.

Nikola Jokic scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Jerami Grant had 20 points off the bench, while Will Barton added 18 points. Jamal Murray contributed 11 points.

The Clippers, who never trailed, used a third-quarter burst to put the Nuggets away. A 15-7 surge to open the quarter gave Los Angeles an 81-63 advantage after two foul shots by Leonard with 6:52 left.

By the end of the third, the Clippers led 98-79. They outscored the Nuggets 32-23 in the quarter.

The Clippers, who bolted to a 17-4 lead in the opening quarter, led by double digits throughout the first half. They led 66-56 at the break.

Both teams shot well in the opening 24 minutes, with Los Angeles converting 53.1 percent to 47.8 percent for Denver. For the game, the Clippers made 53.9 percent to 45.1 percent for the Nuggets.

Los Angeles made 18 of 39 3-pointers (46.2 percent) to 9 of 25 (36 percent) for Denver.

The Clippers recorded 21 of their 35 assists in the first half. The Nuggets managed 19 assists overall.

Denver committed 15 turnovers to 12 for the Clippers.

--Field Level Media