By ARNIE STAPLETON
DENVER Nikola Jokic received loads of assist from his teammates and the Denver Nuggets weren’t about to let up once they constructed an enormous lead and raced previous the Los Angeles Clippers in a 120-101 Sport 7 laugher Saturday evening.
The No. 4 seed Nuggets, who led by as many as 35 factors, superior to tackle the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, which swept Memphis within the first spherical and has had every week off. The groups cut up their season collection 2-2, with each groups successful one on the highway.
The Clippers’ season got here to a screeching halt after they’d entered the playoffs as the most well liked crew within the league, having gained 18 of 21.
Jokic had 16 factors, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Aaron Gordon led Denver with 22 factors, Christian Braun had 21, Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook chipped in 16 every and Michael Porter Jr. scored 15.
Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 22 factors however James Harden solely scored 7 factors on 2-of-8 capturing and Ivica Zubac had his quietest recreation of the collection with 10 factors.
Hanging over the Nuggets all season was their Sport 7 fiasco in Spherical 2 final yr once they blew a 20-point second-half result in the Minnesota Timberwolves simply when it seemed like they had been primed to defend the franchise’s first NBA championship.
And after frittering away a 22-point fourth-quarter benefit in Sport 4 of this collection — solely to be saved by the primary buzzer-beating dunk in NBA playoff historical past, courtesy of Gordon — the Nuggets and Ball Enviornment crowd solely grew extra energized as a substitute of anxious because the lead stored rising and the Clippers stored lacking.
The Nuggets blew this one open with a 17-0 run within the third quarter after Leonard began the second half with a 3-pointer to chop L.A.’s deficit to 58-50.
Los Angeles led 26-21 after one quarter however the Clippers had been outscored 72-40 throughout the second and third quarters to path 93-66 heading into the fourth quarter.
After choosing up his third, fourth and fifth fouls over a 48-second span late within the third, Jokic went to the bench and watched his crew proceed to roll. He sat your complete fourth quarter.
The Nuggets started celebrating early within the fourth quarter when Westbrook willingly took a technical for hanging on the rim and swinging forwards and backwards after his steal and dunk put Denver up 107-76.
And Denver interim coach David Adelman emptied his bench with a 111-81 lead with 5:23 left. However the Clippers went on a 7-0 run and Adelman despatched his starters again in on the 4-minute mark.
The Clippers ended up chopping a 35-point deficit into the teenagers however Denver’s lead, for a change, was too massive to beat. Their 19-point win was their largest in a Sport 7 within the franchise’s playoff historical past.
Courtesy of crew proprietor Steve Ballmer, greater than 100 Clippers followers had been flown to Denver and assembled behind one of many baskets to offer additional noise. It’s an extension of “The Wall,” a bit for the group of superfans that packs the Intuit Dome — additionally behind a basket — for Clippers video games in Los Angeles.
The Nuggets had misplaced 4 of their earlier 5 closeout video games since successful the franchise’s solely NBA championship two years in the past. The Clippers additionally had been the victims the final time Denver gained a Sport 7. That got here within the convention semifinals within the Florida bubble when the Nuggets overcame a 3-1 collection deficit.
