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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – It only took a few plays for Denver coach Michael Malone to like what he was seeing on Saturday night (Sunday Manila time). The Nuggets were physical on both ends, they got what they wanted offensively and set a defensive tone.
“We were a remarkably different team,” Malone said.
It also led to a markedly different result.
Dragged into Game One, the Nuggets led in Game Two of their Western Conference semifinal series with the Los Angeles Clippers. Jamal Murray scored 27 points, Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 18 rebounds and the Nuggets prevailed 110-101 to tie the series to one game each.
Gary Harris and Paul Millsap added 13 points each for Denver, which lost 23 in Game 1 of the series.
“We were tired,” Murray said of the Game One performance. “We came out sloppy, we came out exhausted, we didn’t shoot and it showed.”
That was not the case on Saturday. Murray and Jokic were a combined 20 of 38 from the floor, 7 of 13 from 3-point range.
Paul George scored 22 points for the Clippers, who got 15 from Ivica Zubac and endured a rare offensive night from Kawhi Leonard. The two-time NBA Finals MVP had 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but shot just 4 of 17.
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Leonard had scored at least 20 points in 27 of his last 28 playoff games and had at least 29 in the seven playoff games this season.
“We got into a 20-point hole early,” Leonard said. “We can’t do that … but let’s give the Nuggets credit. They came very aggressive tonight on both ends, played well and won the game.”
It was Leonard’s lowest-scoring playoff game since he had 13 for San Antonio on April 19, 2016. against Memphis, 52 postseason appearances.
“Some easy ones didn’t go down early, and that was it,” Leonard said.
The Clippers trailed 23 and got close to five in the fourth quarter, but no more. Murray and Harris made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions down the stretch to help keep the Nuggets on top, and Patrick Beverley was sent off with a couple of techniques with 1:04 to play and helped seal things.
Murray made two free throws for coaches, Grant added another for a staff who was called up and the lead was 11. George dribbled the ball off his knee on the Clippers’ next possession and the result was academic from there.
“Honestly, I thought they just played more aggressive,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “They got into us throughout the game.”
Denver set the tone early on, starting on a 14-2 streak and finally going 44-23 before the first quarter was completed. Jokic and Murray outscored the Clippers by themselves in the first 12 minutes, 26-25.
“They did a good job just surrounding us,” George said. “And we have to be better.”
He was 72-56 at the half, the Clippers’ third-largest intermediate deficit of the season.
The Clippers ‘best streak finally came in the fourth, with George on a 7-0 personal streak to put the Clippers within 91-86, the Nuggets’ smallest lead since it was 7-2.
Denver responded immediately with the 10-0 run, pushing the lead to 15 on a pair of free throws from Jerami Grant with 5:22 left.
“Our group believes in themselves,” Malone said. “We have shown that we are a very resilient group that can execute and find ways to win in close games down the stretch. It’s great to be able to tie this series and have that life and belief in the next game.”
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Denver equaled the best of the season for any quarter with 44 points in the first. It was the second-best scoring quarter in NBA playoff history for the Nuggets, after scoring 47 in the fourth against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 14, 1985. … Denver edged the Clippers 45-27 in triples.
Clippers: The 23-point deficit was the Clippers’ largest in the bubble (21 against Brooklyn on Aug. 9) and the largest this season since they faced a 28-point deficit against Minnesota on Feb. 8 … Top 44 – Quarter points allowed were the fourth highest for the Clippers in any period this season. They allowed 45 three times and won two of those games.
Rising nuggets
History, of course, says that a 0-2 hole would have been very difficult for Denver. The Nuggets have never been 0-2 against in a best-of-seven in NBA history; They’ve won one of the 13 NBA series after losing the first two games, and that was Seattle’s best-of-five surprise, the top seed, in the 1994 first round. They’ve won six of the previous 19 series they’ve played. they were tied 1-1.
FAMILY TERRITORY
This is the ninth postseason series in which Rivers has led the Clippers. The Clippers have divided the first two games into eight of those nine meetings.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
The third game is Monday.
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