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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – Denver’s dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic led another surprising change as the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009.
Murray scored 40 points, Jokic had a triple-double in the third quarter and Denver again overcame a double-digit deficit to upset the Los Angeles Clippers, 104-89, in the seventh game Tuesday night.
Denver became the first team in National Basketball Association (NBA) history to rebound from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same postseason.
Even more history: The Nuggets are the third team in the major US professional sports to rebound from a pair of 3-1 deficits in the same playoffs, joining the 1985 Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Wild of 2003.
Denver will face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.
Meanwhile, Bam Adebayo achieved the most important moment of his young NBA career when the big Miami All-Star was more up to the task.
Jimmy Butler’s three-point play with 12 seconds to go put Miami forward for good, Adebayo finished off with a surprising Jayson Tatum rejection at the rim on Boston’s next possession, and the Heat scored first in the Conference finals. This one was 117-114 in Game One also Tuesday night.
“When you have big competition like this, you just have to make plays that you can’t even really explain,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “And that was Bam tonight.”
The Heat trailed 13 points in the opening minutes, 14 in the fourth, and felt a poor decision took away their lead in the closing seconds. They found a way in overtime, improving to the NBA’s best 9-1 so far in these playoffs.
Goran Dragic scored 29 points, Jae Crowder scored 22, Butler 20 and Adebayo 18.
The 7-footer Jokic had a monster game with 16 points, 13 assists and 22 rebounds, which were the most by a Nuggets player in an NBA playoff game. He broke his record of 19 that he set last season and shared with Marcus Camby.
In a familiar trend, the Nuggets found themselves falling 12 in the first half. They also lagged 61-54 with 10:50 let in third when they caught fire. The Nuggets went 35-13 to build a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter.
They led for up to 20.
Murray helped the Nuggets move on by giving coach Michael Malone a 49th birthday present.
The team also rallied from double-digit margins in its last two games to surprise the Clippers.
Despite the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the Clippers did not reach the conference finals, where they have never been. They fell to 0-8 all-time in games that could secure a trip to the conference finals.
Leonard finished with 14 points on 6 of 22 shots, while George had 10 points on 4 of 16 shots.
It was the talented couple from Denver that stole the show.
Jokic insisted the third-seeded Nuggets weren’t feeling any pressure. He said that the seventh game was just another game. After all, this was Denver’s fourth straight game dating back to the playoffs last season.
After trailing by as much as 12 in the first half, the Nuggets worked their way back into the game behind Murray’s shot. He scored 25 before intermission when the Clippers chose to double-team with Jokic. AP
