LOS ANGELES — James Harden had just scored six consecutive points and went for another basket, but his pull-up jumper rimmed out late in the first half of Thursday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Harden shook his head.

He wanted more. He wanted to keep that feeling going.

And he did, scoring 20 points for the first time in more than a month, ending a string of single-digit games, poor shooting percentages and weeks of frustration, helping the Clippers hold off the defending NBA champions, 102-100, at Crytpo.com Arena.

“It’s like things in life. If you don’t do it, you don’t use it, it isn’t used as often as it should, then you, not forget about it,” said Harden, who had six rebounds and eight assists to go along with his points.

Harden, considered one of the best scorers of this generation, had scored in single digits in his past two games, shooting 1 for 7 on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings, who consistently blitzed the three-time league scoring champion.

The Nuggets didn’t employ the same tactic and Harden was able to shake free in the open court. He made just 6 of his 23 attempts (2 of 13 from 3-point range).

“I didn’t make shots, but it still felt good,” Harden said. “In my mind, I still got a scorer’s mentality so when I take 13 3s and if four more go in, that’s a killer game. So, shots don’t go in, but most of them were really good shots.”

With Harden working his way back into the box score, Paul George posting a team-high 28 points and Russell Westbrook providing his normal spark off the bench, the Clippers were able to pull out the close victory and leave Coach Tyronn Lue pleased with their effort.

“I just thought our rotation, our bench really came in and changed the game for us,” Lue said. “We got down early. I liked the physicality they came in with, the energy just playing on both sides, the energy they brought was good for us.

“So, you beat a good team like Denver and you shoot 37% from the field, 24% from three, they got the MVP over there and you fight and claw, you can take a win or a loss in this game because we competed, we played hard, we scrapped.”

The Clippers, playing without Kawhi Leonard, struggled to contain the Nuggets and fell behind by 17 points in the first half.

But behind a solid defensive effort in the second half and playing with the kind of energy not seen lately in Crypto.com Arena they were able to overcome a 36-point triple-double from Nuggets center Nikola Jokic to end a five-game home losing streak.

But it wasn’t easy.

After Jokic hit a 3-pointer to get Denver within 102-100 with 1:46 left in the game, Clippers center Ivica Zubac missed a layup. The Clippers got the ball back when Aaron Gordon lost the ball out of bounds with 33.1 seconds remaining, giving them a shot at padding their lead.

Harden’s final 3-point attempt, however, was short, giving the ball back to the Nuggets with five seconds left. Jokic then threw up a last-second 3-point shot from half court that missed as time expired.

The Nuggets began to chip away at an 11-point third-quarter deficit, eventually pulling to within two 94-92 on a 3-pointer by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 3:51 left to play. Denver further closed the gap to 98-97 on free throws by Jokic with 1:46 left.

But the Nuggets (53-24) couldn’t complete the comeback.

Leonard missed his second consecutive game and eighth this season, because of right knee soreness and his status for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz was yet to be determined.

Sitting Leonard, who had surgery on the knee in 2021, could be a precautionary move considering Thursday’s game was the start of a five-in-seven run. The All-Star wing has played 68 games this season, the most he’s played since his 2016-17 All-Star season,

While the Clippers missed Leonard’s team-leading 23.7 points per game in Tuesday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, Thursday was a different story.

They had four players in double figures, led by George, who had four rebounds to go along with his points, and Harden. Westbrook added 12 points and six assists, while Zubac had 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Norman Powell added 11 points.

“All in all, it was a good win for us,” Harden said. “The first quarter we got down and didn’t panic and the second quarter we made some shots. Defensively, we locked in.”

Lue pointed to the team’s energy and aggressiveness from Westbrook for the unlikely victory.

“Attacking the basket, getting to the free-throw line, defensively, got a couple of deflections, steals and just bringing that energy off the bench,” Lue said. “We need him to play that way. That’s how we need him to play. Having that energy, attack mindset in transition and in the halfcourt that gets us into our sets and run what we run.

“I thought he did a great job tonight of really coming off the bench and setting the tone and give us that edge we needed.”

Denver is a team the Clippers have had trouble with, having lost two of the first three meetings this season. And that certainly was the case early as the Clippers failed to find an offensive groove in the first 12 minutes.

Whatever Lue told them between quarters seemed to shake them out of their malaise as Powell, Westbrook and Amir Coffey got the Clippers back into the game with a 8-0 run to pull within 31-30 with 9:53 left in the first half.

The Clippers’ bench outscored the Nuggets’ bench 21-0 in the first half and 34-9 for the game.

Then Harden got hot, ending the hand-wringing about his recent lack of scoring. He buried a 3-pointer and then scored a 3-point play to give the Clippers a 40-37 lead.

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In between two 3-pointers and a layup by Jokic, Harden added a 10-foot jumper, three foul shots after being fouled on a 3-point attempt that pushed the Clippers ahead at 48-46 with one minute left before halftime. Harden added a 3-pointer and George two free throws to close out the half ahead, 53-49.

Harden had 14 of his points in the first half.

The Nuggets, having already clinched a playoff spot, were led by Jokic, who had his 24th triple-double of the season, posting 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Aaron Gordon added 18 points.

“Kawhi didn’t play but they have multiple guys who can defend multiple positions. That’s why they’re so good,” Jokic said.

The Nuggets, who had won two in a row and six of eight, were without star guard Jamal Murray, who sat out the game because of inflammation in his right knee, but Denver had plenty of others who picked up the slack.

But the Nuggets had to finish the game without Coach Michael Malone, who got ejected with 7:54 left after walking on the court to argue with the officials, drawing two technical fouls.