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Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets takes a shot while Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers defends during the second half of an NBA conference semifinal basketball game on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Flights home from the NBA bubble are planned each time a team is on the cusp of elimination, should the need arise.
Denver is in no rush to board that plane.
The Nuggets, who never claim to die, pulled off another season-saving comeback and, after recovering from 19 points down with 22 minutes remaining, will see the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 on Tuesday night for a spot in the finals of the Western Conference. .
Nikola Jokic had 34 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and the Nuggets outscored the Clippers 111-98 on Sunday to tie their Western semi-final series with three games apiece. The Nuggets will attempt to become the first team in NBA history to rebound from a pair of 3-1 deficits in the same postseason after defeating Utah in the first round of the West.
“I’m running out of adjectives, superlatives, whatever you want to call it to speak to our team,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “That’s a tough, tough bunch of you-know-what. I love our team. I love our team. I love our toughness. “
Jamal Murray scored 21 for Denver, which received 16 from Gary Harris, 13 from Michael Porter Jr. and 10 from Monte Morris. The Nuggets edged the Clippers 62-27 in a dizzying 20-minute stretch of the second half, changing everything.
“I don’t know how we did it, to be honest,” Jokic said. “It is an incredible team. They are really talented and well trained. They are really scary. “
Paul George had 33 points, Kawhi Leonard scored 25 and Lou Williams had 14 for the Clippers, who are now 0-7 in games that could clinch a trip to the conference finals.
The Clippers were outscored by 29 points after halftime, their worst deficit of the season.
“It’s frustrating,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “Hey, when you decide to be a coach, it’s not going to be roses every day. Clearly we have the correct formula as to how we’re playing and then we keep losing it. “
The Nuggets trailed 16 at the half, the fourth time in six games in the series when they trailed by at least that much in one game, and ultimately trailed by as much as 19 in the third quarter.
Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, right, celebrates with Monte Morris (11) after an NBA conference semifinal in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers game on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The Nuggets won 111-98. (AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill)
“I think we are a really good team,” Murray said. “It shouldn’t get to this point.”
Of course, the Nuggets thrive when they are in trouble.
They saved their season in Game 5 of the first round by recovering from 15 points in the third quarter against Utah to set the tone for a rally from a 3-1 series deficit. They were saved again in Game 5 of this series, going down by 16 before returning to save the season again.
Sunday was more of the same.
George hit a triple shortly after halftime for a 19-point lead and Leonard hit a pair of free throws with 8:27 left in the third quarter to put the Clippers up 73-55. Apparently that’s when the Nuggets decided it was time to get going.
For the next 10 minutes, the Nuggets outscored the Clippers 30-8. Denver had eight different players scoring in that stretch, Murray and Morris scoring seven each, and the huge deficit turned into an 85-81 lead with 10:16 left.
“It’s not that we don’t respect them,” George said. “We respect the opponent. They came this far for a reason. They have been together for a while, so they are a connected group. They have been here. They have been part of many 7 “games.
Another waits.
“It’s going to sound weird or funny or whatever, but we don’t care,” Jokic said. “We’re just going to go there and have fun.”
TIPS
Clippers: Leonard also had eight rebounds and five assists. … Ivica Zubac had 12 rebounds and George hit 11 of 11 from the foul line.
Nuggets: Denver’s lead reached 16 in the final moments, a 35-point turnaround from the beginning of the third. … The Nuggets are 5-0 this season as they face elimination.
QUICK ESCAPE
The Clippers’ Patrick Beverley fouled with 10:16 remaining, after scoring just two points.
It was his sixth foul of the season, his second against the Nuggets. And it was only the fourth time he had fouled in a playoff game; He did it on Sunday at 5:37 pm, more than seven minutes faster than he ever had in his postseason career.
ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHEDULES
With Denver’s victory, the Western Conference finals – Clippers or Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers – will now surely begin on Friday, with games every other day until someone wins the series.
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