Nikola Jokić has carried the Denver Nuggets through this series and through this season, but on Tuesday, it was the Jamal Murray show as the three-time MVP’s sidekick led all scorers with 43 points. This is playoff Murray in a nutshell. While he’s struggled through injuries over the past few years, he has always been at his best under the bright lights. He delivered on Tuesday, and now the Nuggets hold a 3-2 series win over the Clippers. One more win and they advance to the second round.
Murray wasn’t alone, though. Jokić, amazingly, was only Denver’s fifth-leading scorer with 13 points. The second half belonged to Murray, but the first half belonged to Russell Westbrook. His 16 points kept the Nuggets afloat during Jokić’s first rest stint. When his jumpers are falling, there’s no easy way to defend the Nuggets.
Now the Clippers have their backs against the wall. It’s a situation Kawhi Leonard relishes. Though he had a quiet 20 points tonight, his last Game 6 back in 2021 saw a historic 45-point explosion to save the Clippers against Dallas. Los Angeles will need that Leonard if they want to force a Game 7. If not? Get ready for a Nuggets-Thunder second-round series.
The Nuggets and Clippers have given us four of the most fun games of the playoffs so far, and unsurprisingly, Game 5 has been no exception. Denver leads at the half with home-court advantage in this tied series, but the Clippers haven’t let them run away with the game despite their fast start. They’ve already won a game in Denver in this series and will need to win another one at some point to advance to the second round.
The story of the game so far? The role players. Russell Westbrook checked into the game after missing Game 4 and immediately scored 16 points in nine minutes, which included two 3-pointers. That helped Denver survive the precarious Nikola Jokić bench minutes, which have vexed the Nuggets all series, all season, and really, throughout this entire era. Denver got him nearly five minutes of rest while only getting outscored by a single point. In Game 4, David Adelman played Jokić the entire second half, and if he plans to do so again, that stretch will have proven critical.
The Clippers, meanwhile, have gotten 11 key points and three 3-pointers out of Kris Dunn. Those numbers are far more important than they look on the page. Denver’s entire defense in this series has been based on helping off of non-shooters. That has largely included Dunn, who is punishing them for that tonight. The Clippers are scoring. They just can’t stop the Nuggets so far, so they trail at the half.
The playoffs are full of surprises, and one of the biggest has been the performance of Russell Westbrook in this series between the Nuggets and Clippers. Westbrook’s shooting and defense saved Denver in Game 1. Now, he’s dominating Game 5. Through nine minutes of play, he has 16 points and two made 3-pointers. When a series gets down to “best of three” territory, it often comes down to which role player steps up and has a big game when his team needs it. Westbrook is doing that tonight.
WHAT. A. FINISH! Aaron Gordon just stunned the Clippers with one of the most incredible game-winning buckets in NBA history! The Denver Nuggets blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead and looked destined for overtime after Nikola Jokić’s wild game-winning 3-point attempt missed. However, Gordon grabbed the miss out of the air and dunked it home right as the buzzer rang. It was called good on the floor, and upon replay, by the thinnest of margins, the call stood. The Nuggets have tied this series at two games apiece.
Gordon made the big play at the end, but Jokić took them most of the way home. He finished the game with 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists. The Clippers, meanwhile, very nearly stole the show with a historic comeback. An Ivica Zubac tip in with just eight seconds remaining tied the score at 99. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 24 points, and a 1-1-3 zone defense in the fourth quarter nearly swung the game, but in the end, Denver managed to pull out the stunner.
Now the series shifts back to Denver. Despite injuries to Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr., despite the firings of head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth, the Nuggets are two home wins away from the second round. The Clippers, meanwhile, are forced to pick up the pieces after one of the most unbelievable losses of the playoffs thus far.
Denver lead this game by 22 points in the fourth quarter, but here come the Clippers! It’s only an eight-point game after that steal and dunk by Kawhi Leonard with less than five minutes to go. If you turned this game off when it looked like the Nuggets had it won, you might want to check back in.
It’s halftime here in Los Angeles, but the story has less to do with the basketball we’ve seen and more to do with the skirmish that took place before the teams went to the locker room. With around six seconds remaining in the second quarter, Christian Braun committed a foul on James Harden, and the two shared some heated words. Soon after, both teams were locked in a heated exchange, with James Harden and Aaron Gordon at the center of it. Technical fouls were called on Harden, Norm Powell, Kris Dunn, Gordon, Braun and Nikola Jokić. Those techs offset, so no free throws were shot.
On the court, it’s been a back-and-forth affair in Los Angeles as the Nuggets and Clippers play a critical Game 4 in their first-round series. The Nuggets are dealing with several key injuries in this one. Russell Westbrook is out, while Michael Porter Jr. is playing with a big pad on his left shoulder due to an injury he suffered in Game 2.
Jokić has, unsurprisingly, been the star of the show for the Nuggets. The Clippers have done a good job of taking away his passing lanes, but he’s excelled as a scorer and rebounder. He has 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists at the half. The Clippers, meanwhile, have had a more balanced attack. No one in red and blue has reached double figures yet.
We’ve already gotten a crazy Kawhi Leonard highlight in this game. So sure, why not throw in a great Jokić highlight for good measure? In a wild end-of-quarter sequence, the Nuggets got a chance to score with 1.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter because the Clippers threw a full-court inbounds pass out of bounds. They responded by creating this buzzer-beating 3-pointer for Jokić to give the Nuggets a five-point lead after one.
Watching Kawhi Leonard in this series, you almost wouldn’t know how badly injuries have affected his career. He looks completely spry and at times utterly dominant. His 39-point Game 2 swung that game for the Clippers, who may be trailing Game 4 early, but have already gotten one incredible highlight play out of Leonard so far. Denver has been leaving Kris Dunn open all series, but when he missed this 3-point attempt, despite the extra bodies in the paint, Leonard was able to fly in for the putback jam.
The Clippers took a 2-1 lead in their first-round series against the Nuggets on Thursday, and they did it with a total team effort. James Harden had 20 first-half points but didn’t even need to score in the second half for the Clippers to extend their 18-point halftime lead. Kawhi Leonard had 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Denver actually got out to the faster start behind hot shooting from Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, but the Clippers ended the first quarter on a 10-0 surge, aided by some hot shooting from Harden, and eventually rattled off a 23-2 run extending into the second quarter. It was never a game after that.
The Nuggets were scrambling all over the place defensively trying to keep Harden and Leonard contained, and the Clippers were finding offense very easy as a result. It looks simple when it’s clicking as the Clippers, who had 26 assists and were simply moving the ball to the open guy to hit 3s or attack closeouts as Denver over-leveraged itself toward the stars.
The Clippers are not typically a big 3-point team, but they made 18 of them at a 48% clip on Thursday. Denver made seven. Six Clippers made multiple 3s in this one, and that 33-point disparity in the 3-point column sunk Denver.
After his hot start, Gordon went ice cold for the Nuggets, who were led in scoring by Nikola Jokić and Murray, who both had 23.
Historically, teams that win Game 3 in a 1-1 series go on to win the series over 70% of the time, meaning the Nuggets have their work cut out for them to get out of the first round.
The Clippers are lighting the Nuggets up in the first postseason game in the Intuit Dome. James Harden has been hunting offense from the start and has a game-high 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting including three 3-pointers. L.A. has already hit 12 3-pointers as a team at a 54% clip.
You can tell the Clippers came with an intention to play faster. The energy is high and they’re not letting it bleed out with any lethargic possessions. Even in the half-court the tempo is aggressive and decisive.
The Nuggets came out hot themselves, particularly Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray, but the Clippers ran off a 10-0 spurt to close the first quarter and extended it in the second over what turned out to be a 23-2 run.
Murray and Gordon lead the Nuggets with 13 points each, but the Nuggets have been outscored by 13 in Nikola Jokić’s minutes, which doesn’t happen often in a full game, let alone one half. That stat will obviously have to be flipped if the Nuggets are going to rally in the second half.
You are not going to find a more entertaining first-round playoff series than what the Clippers and Nuggets have going on right now, and it’s only right that it’s tied 1-1 heading to L.A. for Game 3 on Thursday after the Clippers pulled out Game 2 in Denver on Monday.
Kawhi Leonard is on some 2019 Toronto stuff right now. Wherever the doctor is that worked on his knee, take a bow, because this dude was, and is, in vintage form with a masterful 39-point performance on 15-of-19 shooting including this nasty pull-up 3 to beat the first-half buzzer.
It is impossible to overstate how incredible Leonard looks right now. He’s getting to his spots, hitting unbelievably tough contested shots of every variety. Nikola Jokić did his best to keep up with Leonard with a 26-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple double, but he committed seven turnovers and the Nuggets coughed it up 20 times. That, and Leonard, plus eight missed free throws for Denver was the difference.
If there was a moment late in the game that it felt like Denver could’ve really put its hooks into L.A. it was with just under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets were on a mini 6-2 run and about to take the lead with a wide-open Aaron Gordon dunk that would’ve blown the roof off the building, but he back-rimmed it.
The Nuggets did manage to tie the game a minute later with a 3 by Jamal Murray, who was terrific all night with 23 points and four 3-pointers, but Norman Powell, who conversely struggled all night, hit probably the biggest shot of the game, a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Clippers a lead they finally never relinquish.
What a game. What a series. See you on Thursday.
We’ve got another tight one in Denver, where the Nuggets looked like they were about to open up a big lead only for the Clippers to stay attached and then eventually rally back to take the halftime lead on a sick Kawhi Leonard buzzer beater.
Leonard is on a scorcher with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting. The Nuggets are pushing the pace, and the Clips are again struggling to take care of the ball. Ivica Zubac is having another strong showing with 10 points. He’s battling for everything he’s worth to defend Nikola Jokić and he is absolutely gassed. He could hardly talk at the first-quarter interview.
Jamal Murray has a nice rhythm going for Denver with a team-high 12 points and a couple 3s. Jokić has eight with five assists and four rebounds, but so far the three-time MVP isn’t completely controlling the game. These are just two very evenly-matched teams and it’s showing every minute of this series.
NBA playoff odds, picks: Best bets for Knicks vs. Pistons, Nuggets vs. Clippers Game 2s on Monday
The Nuggets take a 1-0 series lead over the Clippers after a thrilling overtime win Saturday afternoon. Denver came back from a 15-point deficit in the first half, and stole a game from a Clippers team that looked in control for most of the afternoon. But it was the Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokić’s near triple-double (29 points, 12 assists, 9 rebounds), that came out on top.
Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray provided Jokić with some much-needed support, and overcame a poor first half where the Nuggets shot just 30.8% from 3-point range. Russell Westbrook also came up clutch on a number of occasions, including a huge 3-pointer to tie the game up near the end of the fourth quarter, and causing a Clippers turnover with 9.6 seconds left, stopping L.A. from tying up the game.
The Clippers have got to be kicking themselves for losing this one after being in control for most of the afternoon. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard turned in vintage performances, combining for 54 points, but Ivica Zubac did his part with 21 points and 13 rebounds, but ultimately the Nuggets were more aggressive down the stretch, fighting for offensive boards and hitting big shots to pull out a win.
It was a tough loss for L.A., but this game showed us we’re in store for a thrilling series. This matchup could go the distance to seven games, and up next will be Game 2 Monday night.
Four quarters wasn’t enough for Denver and L.A. to decide a winner so we’re headed for 5 more minutes of action. The Nuggets came back from a 15-point first half deficit, and had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but couldn’t get a shot off, so free basketball it is.
Props to the Clippers for the tough defense to force Russell Westbrook into not being able to get a shot off here.
The Nuggets have clawed back from a 15-point first-half deficit to be down by four points against the Clippers in Game 1. Nikola Jokic is nearing another triple-double, while Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon have stepped up in the second half to turn this into what should be a thrilling finish in Denver.
The Nuggets started to turn thing around at the end of the second quarter, cutting what was a 15-point Clippers lead to 4. It was the momentum Denver needed after a first half that primarily favored the Clippers thanks to James Harden and Kawhi Leonard who had 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Defense was the main culprit for the Nuggets, who struggled to contain Harden in the first quarter. Across the board, Denver just allowed the Clippers to get whatever they wanted in the paint. The defense tightened up down the stretch of the first half, but the Nuggets still need more offensive output from guys not named Nikola Jokic if they want to stand a chance in this game.
Denver closed the half on a 14-2 run, so perhaps that will be the spark needed to get them going in the second half.
James Harden has 15 of L.A.’s 35 points, and so far, the Nuggets have no answer defensively for him. He’s 6 of 11 from the floor and has the Clippers out to an 8-point lead after one quarter. He topped that first-quarter performance with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the cherry on top. We may be in store for a signature Harden performance.
The Clippers are having their way on offense in Game 1. Harden is up to nine points, and L.A. is outscoring Denver 22-4 in the paint. It’s been easy pick-and-rolls and drive-and-kicks for the Clippers, and so far the Nuggets haven’t figured out how to slow L.A. down. It’s a long game, but so far, it’s been all Clippers to start.
