INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Nuggets provided more bricks for The Wall.

The Clippers won the Intuit Dome’s playoff debut, 117-83, thanks to a big disparity in 3-point production Thursday night.

Los Angeles went 18 for 39 (46.2%) from 3-point range, while Denver went 7 for 26. The Nuggets went 5 for 18 (27.8%) in the first half when they faced “The Wall,” a 51-row section behind one basket reserved for the Clippers’ most passionate fans.

Nicolas Batum led the Clippers with four 3s on six attempts, while James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell made three apiece. Nikola Jokic (2-3) and Aaron Gordon (2-3) were the only Nuggets to make multiple 3s.

Los Angeles also finished with a 13-3 advantage in fast-break points, a 42-38 edge in points in the paint and outscored the Nuggets 13-3 in fast-break points.

“They’re a good team,” Jokic said. “They’re taking away what we’re good at.”

A 23-2 Clippers run that spanned the end of the first quarter and the start of the second turned a seven-point Nuggets lead into a 14-point deficit.

“They shot the hell out of the ball,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said.

Leonard led the Clippers with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Harden added 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds, while Powell (20), Ivica Zubac (19), Batum (12) and Derrick Jones Jr. (10) gave the Clippers six players in double figures. Harden started the big run with pull-up 3s on consecutive possessions.

“He was successful early, made up a couple pull-up 3s. To their credit, they move the ball side to side, and a lot of guys got going at the same time,” Adelman said. “I thought after that, we got a little hesitant with what we were trying to do. When you do that, you’re going to give up easy baskets to Zubac and all of a sudden, you’re giving everything up at once, and now you’re searching for different coverages. When you’re searching, that’s not a good thing. You got to put your head down and do things harder and better.”

Jokic and Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 23 points apiece. Jokic added 13 rebounds and 13 assists for another playoff triple-double. Gordon, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the first five minutes, was Denver’s only other player in double figures in the lowest-scoring game of Denver’s season.

“We just got to settle down and let things happen and trust each other,” Murray said of the offensive struggles. “I feel like everybody’s trying to make the assist. … I feel like there’s a lot of stuff we can just be better at.”

Russell Westbrook did not play in the second half, as he dealt with left foot inflammation. He finished with 3 points in 8 minutes of playing time. All five of his attempts came from 3-point range, and he made just one. Adelman did not have an update on Westbrook’s status immediately after the game.

Michael Porter Jr., who started the day listed as questionable with a left shoulder sprain, played 35 minutes before Adelman removed his starters with 4 minutes, 34 seconds, left. Porter went 2 for 9 from the field and 1 of 6 from 3-point range, finishing with 7 points and 6 rebounds. He headed right to the locker room after being subbed out. Adelman said he did not reaggravate his sprained left shoulder but got a head start on his recovery ahead of Saturday’s Game 4. The 26-year-old was noncommittal when asked if he would play in Game 4.

“If I can go out there and feel more confident that I can help the team, then I’m going to play,” Porter said. “If it’s still in a place like it is today, and I don’t feel like I can help the team at all, there’s no point in trying to go out there.”

Game 4 will be an opportunity for the Clippers to take a 3-1 series lead over the Nuggets, just like they did during the 2020 postseason only for Denver to complete the comeback. Denver can regain home-court advantage with a better effort Saturday.

“We got embarrassed today. It happens in the playoffs,” Adelman said. “(We’ve) been a part of it before, been a part of the other side of it. The bottom line is, it’s one game, and (if) we come back (in) Game 4, we do the right things, (we) give ourselves a chance.”

CLIPPERS 117, NUGGETS 83

What happened: The Clippers led by seven after the first quarter and extended the advantage to 65-47 at halftime. Denver fell behind by 20 to start the fourth quarter, and the Clippers took a 2-1 lead in the series.

What went right: Nikola Jokic recorded another triple-double before the start of the fourth quarter. Jokic had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists through three quarters. It was his 20th playoff triple-double. Only Magic Johnson (30) and LeBron James (28) have more.

What went wrong: Los Angeles was scalding to start the game. The Clippers went 9 of 13 from 3-point range in the first quarter. James Harden started 3-4, while Norman Powell and Kris Dunn went 2-3 from deep in the first 12 minutes. The hot shooting fueled a 23-2 Clippers run that spanned the end of the first quarter and the start of the second.

Highlight of the night: Two of Nikola Jokic’s eight assists in the first half were no-look dimes to Christian Braun and Jamal Murray. Braun finished with a dunk, while Murray opted for an uncontested layup.

Up next: Game 4 is Saturday afternoon at Intuit Dome.