They’ve never entered the season’s halfway point, truncated schedule or not, with a chance to own sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division. A win over the Nuggets on Wednesday would guarantee at least a 0.5-game lead over the second-place Lakers.

Paul Foye Butler Griffin Jordan PG SG SF PF C Lawson Afflalo Brewer Faried Mozgov PG SG SF PF C

And after thriving in the fourth quarter through much of his first season in Los Angeles, Paul was held without a point in the final 12 minutes Monday, marking the first such meaningful instance since the All-Star point guard was dealt to the Clippers in December.

Leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (bone chip fracture in left ankle), starting center Nene (left calf strain), and sixth man Rudy Fernandez (lower back strain) all missed Monday’s overtime win over the Timberwolves. Point guard Ty Lawson also left the game with a sprained ankle. He is listed as day-to-day.

Denver has lost 10 of its last 14 games, including a stretch of seven out of eight.

LIVE CHAT Join us for a live chat throughout the game, starting at tip-off! CLICK HERE

“We’re just having too many careless turnovers,” Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said after the team’s loss to the Warriors. “Whether it’s one, two, three, or four it doesn’t matter. It has an outcome on this game and it [also] has a definite effect on the game, so we’ve got to tighten that up and we will tighten it up.”

Paul, uncharacteristically, committed five turnovers on Monday and the team had 18 overall against just 14 assists. Against Golden State, a team with limited weapons beyond Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, and David Lee, the Clippers still had a chance to win late. Against Denver, however, it could be a different story. The Nuggets thrive on the break and even with their banged up frontcourt, can come at their opponent in waves.

In 32 minutes with Harrington on the court, Griffin is shooting 64% and averaging 21.4 points.

Kenyon Martin will play against the Nuggets for the first time since returning from his brief stint in the Chinese Basketball Association. He was Denver’s starting power forward from 2004-2011, including playing a key role in the team’s run to the Western Conference Finals in 2009… Eric Bledsoe, who was part of a six-minute, 17-0 run Saturday against the Spurs, recorded his first career double-double versus Denver with 12 points and a career-high 13 assists on Nov. 5, 2010. Later in his rookie season, he snagged another career high with seven steals in a March 5, 2011 game against the Nuggets… The Clippers are 5-14 in their last 19 games against their foes from the Mile High City.