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After a beating in Game 1, the Denver Nuggets clearly had a lot to work on. A Los Angeles Clippers team in full force had worked them out and Kawhi Leonard looked unstoppable, and it was unclear to what extent the loss was attributable to fatigue from their seven-game first round.
It’s safe to say that Game 2 was a good start.
Behind the resurgent performances of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the Nuggets ambushed the Clippers in the first quarter and were never far behind, eventually winning 110-101 in a game they entered as 9.5-point underdogs.
The Nuggets seemed like a new team
The Nuggets were not long in getting started. The team jumped to a 14-2 lead to open the game and ended the first quarter with a 44-25 lead.
At the end of the first half, Jokic had a double-double of 24 points and Murray had 20 points. Jokic finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds and four assists, including the best of the game.
On the defensive end, the Nuggets did everything they could to remove Leonard from his posts. Frequently swarming as he got closer to the paint, Leonard scored just 13 points on 4 of 17 shots, the first time he failed to score more than 28 points in these playoffs. The Nuggets’ defensive efforts in the paint were impressive across the board, holding the Clippers to 24 of 50 shots in the paint.
It was all day and night from Game 1, and Murray admitted after the game that the team was just exhausted that night.
“Yes, we were tired. We came out sloppy, weary, “Murray said after the game. “Tonight we just increased the energy and that’s all we need to win.”
Compounding the Clippers’ woes was a cold shooting night for nearly all Clippers not named Paul George (4 of 10 from deep), with the rest of the Clippers shooting 5 of 22 on 3s.
Despite all those problems, the Clippers managed to make a bit of noise in the fourth quarter, reducing the Nuggets’ lead to just five with several minutes to go. Yet another Nuggets run nullified that threat, and the series soon leveled off hours after rumors of a possible sweep.
