Recap: Denver Nuggets boat up Kavi Leonard and Los Angeles Clippers, 110-101 win

The Denver Nuggets needed to bounce back by flying into one of the Western Conference semifinals games by the Los Angeles Clippers. They initially jumped on LA, opening up a twenty-plus point lead in the first quarter on the backs of Jamal Murray and Nicola Jokic. The Clippers would fight back in the second half to make his game but Denver’s defense stalled and eventually it proved too much. Knots wins 110-101 and also picks the range.

Both teams struggled early on the field but only managed to make a small lead with Denver Murray. This helped the Nuggets get into a little groove while the Clippers stayed cool and Denver’s lead was ten. Murray continued to stay warm as the first six minutes went by, probably. Continued to advance in the Nuggets. Cavi Leonard and Paul George started looking for their range to stop the lead growing but Jockey prevented it from getting closer. Threes continued to hit when the knots came in the nuggets so the lead kept growing. The Joker felt like he took less shots at the end of the quarter but he looked fine. Knot wrapped up a fantastic first quarter with a nineteen-point lead.

LA had his way to the couple’s property early in the second offense, but the Nuggets didn’t give up either and kept the lead around twenty. Denver’s bench was playing best, especially with Torrey Craig’s great with Raza Monte Morris. Nuggets started cooling towards the middle of the quarter which allowed the Clippers to take the lead. They stopped moving the basketball L and settled for the jumpers as L went 14-3 to push Michael Malone to the deadline. Joachim and Murray calmed things down to keep the lead in any shortcoming with half a winding. Bay was up 72-56 after the end of Denver.

Paul Millsap, who was playing his best game of the playoffs so far, opened the second half with three to help Denver advance to twenty. After that though the Nuggets ’offense cooled down and the Clippers started fighting again. Their shooting struggles continued before Murray finally stepped back one step, keeping the Nuggets’ lead at fifteen halfway through the quarter. If those clippers weren’t as cold as Denver, the game could have been closer, but the third quarter was usually a big brick fest. LA seemed to have the advantage of a whistle that kept the game within distance as the quarter closed. Michael Porter Jr. and Lou Williams ended up having a little duel by closing the clippers a little stronger and pulling inside the bar after three.

Denver, especially on offense, felt a little sluggish to start the final frame, while the Clippers kept going away. George came to life and went to L.A. to get closer to the game. Began to hit shots behind 12.3 runs. Gary Harris injected some life into Denver with a pair of thrashings to spark the Nuggets -0-0 and the six-minute streak went ahead. Things start to slide in a crunchy state and the nuggets let the clippers move. Murray hit three big steps back with two minutes to go and Harris followed him with three in a corner to put what felt like the final nail in the coffin. Marcus Morris was able to live the Clippers life even after three, but Patrick Beverly picked up two fouls on one possession and argued towards his technical and double technique, which he would have written. Nodes win 110-101.

Douglas p. Photo by Defellis / Getty Images

This wasn’t an aggressively charged matchup tonight but it needs to be highlighted. I said not to stop the poet in the preview but I was wrong. With a little help from Harris and Craig along the way, Grant created a defensive masterpiece on Clave. Probably the Nuggets can expect from Leonard of this series and it is 100% due to that group.

Harris was absolutely left tonight. He helped Kahin get involved, played a tough defense on George and was his main contributor to the offense. It was Harris who eliminated the Clippers with some big three in the final minute. It can’t be overstated how much Denver missed his defense when he was out but tonight we also saw how they could use his shooting. I don’t expect Gary to make a big contribution to the offense during the full playoffs, but it does show how any night he can be another threat to Denver.

The Nuggets handled this with a jump and ended up going wire to wire with the lead but it certainly didn’t look like an impressive win. Denver jockeys and Murray took a huge lead in the first quarter and sorted for the rest of the game. It’s probably not wise to expect the Clippers stars to struggle this way again. Still, the win is a win and the series is tied at 1-1, knowing the Nuggets can be happy.