LOS ANGELES — Having seen enough from the Clippers starters in the first three preseason games, Coach Tyronn Lue gave the three stars the night off Thursday.

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook sat on the sidelines while the second unit faced off against the defending champion Denver Nuggets in their preseason finale at Crypto.com Arena.

George and Leonard played exclusively in the first halves of all three preseason games, and George had a breakout game Tuesday with 23 points.

“I’ve been very satisfied with them just understanding the process, understanding our mindset on both sides of the basketball and how we want to play,” Lue said of the regular starters. “And they’ve done a great job in camp so far.”

With the big three in street clothes and Nicolas Batum joining them at halftime, Thursday’s starting five took advantage of their opportunity – none more so than Bones Hyland – to push the Nuggets for a half before losing, 103-90.

Hyland, displaying both his increased defensive effort and ability to control the up-tempo pace, scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting and had seven rebounds and six assists before leaving the game in the third quarter.

The point guard suffered a sprained left ankle while chasing a ball near the baseline and needed to be helped off the court in the third quarter. The sprain is not considered serious, but he will be re-evaluated Friday, according to Lue.

“I was just hoping it wasn’t something serious, how he laid there,” Lue said. “I didn’t know what it was because I didn’t see the play.”

This was not what Lue wanted to see, not on a team that has a long history of injuries.

“I didn’t feel good about it, of course, this close to our first game,” Lue said. “But hopefully he can recover fast.”

Hyland has been looking to show off his ball-handling skills but admitted earlier this week that his scoring at times gets in the way. No one was complaining as he continually beat his man down the court or slid inside the paint for a basket.

“At the end of the day I am a point guard, but I feel like my point guard skills always get overlooked because of my scoring ability,” Hyland said. “I feel like it overshadows it, but I’m definitely a point guard. I feel like I’ve been showcasing that.”

The fourth preseason lineup also included Terance Mann (10 points), Robert Covington (seven points) Norman Powell (10 points) and Ivica Zubac, the only regular starter in the group, who had five points and 10 rebounds. If Lue wanted a test for those five, he got it.

Unlike Tuesday’s game, the Nuggets played their regular starters, and they didn’t take it easy on the Clippers, who had little luck in stopping two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon, who combined for 21 of the team’s first 24 points. Jokic had 18 points and seven rebounds by the end of the first half and nearly finished with a triple-double – 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each had 13 points and Jamal Murray had eight points and seven assists.

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Lue said before the game, he wanted to see a continued defensive effort from the second unit and fewer turnovers. The Clippers turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 22 points, in Tuesday’s victory over Denver.

“Just continue to work on what we’ve been talking about – having a defensive mindset for 48 minutes. Our spacing on the floor offensively, making sure we’re not passing and standing. Make sure we’re cutting, understanding when we’re supposed to cut and sharing the basketball.”

Somewhere in the mix, though, is the starting power forward. Lue said he had made up his mind between Batum, Mann and Covington, but then wavered after the game, adding that he will announce the fifth starter at Friday’s practice.

“So, after tonight we still got five or six days to fine-tune what we want to be and who we want to be and we’re off to a good start with that so far. So, I like it.”