by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com
The first round of the Western Conference playoffs continues tonight with the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets (50-32) visiting the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers (50-32) in Game Four at Intuit Dome on TNT. The Clippers routed Denver 117-83 in Game Three on Thursday, and will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead tonight. Los Angeles is a 6-point favorite and the total is 212.5.
The Nuggets and Clippers are meeting for the third time in the postseason. They split the previous matchups with Los Angeles knocking off Denver 4-1 in the first-round of the 2006 playoffs. It was the Clippers first series win in 30 years (1975-76). Fourteen years later, Denver outlasted the Clippers 4-3 in the 2020 Western Conference Semifinals at the Orlando bubble playoffs. This occurred in September 2020 due to the 2019-20 season being interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Denver overcame a 3-1 deficit to win that series. Several key players — Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac — who participated in the 2020 playoff matchup are playing in this series.
SERIES RECAP
Games One and Two in Denver were both nail-biters that came down to the final possession, with each team picking up a win. Denver rallied for a 112-110 overtime victory in Game One. The Nuggets overcame a 15-point, first-half deficit(49-34) to pull out the win. Several careless turnovers by the Clippers late in overtime sealed the win for the Nuggets. James Harden scored a game-high 32 points (11-22 FG, 4-9 3Pt, 6-6 FT) and dished out 11 assists over 43 minutes in the loss. Nikola Jokic amassed 29 points (12-24 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 4-6 FT), 12 assists, nine rebounds, three steals and a block across 46 minutes for Denver in the win.
The Clippers returned the favor in Game Two and held on for a 105-102 victory on April 21. Denver missed two three-pointers in the final five seconds that could have tied the game. Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 39 points on a blistering 15-of-19 shooting in the Game Two win. Nikola Jokic notched a triple-double of 26 points (8-16 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 6-10 FT), 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a losing effort.
The series shifted to Los Angeles for Game Three on Thursday night. After a highly competitive first two games in Denver, where each contest was decided by three points or less, Game Three provided a completely different outcome as the Clippers routed Denver 117-83. The Clippers went on a 23-2 run over the end of the first quarter through the start of the second second frame, which turned a 26-19 deficit into a 42-29 lead. The Clippers never looked back from that point on.
Kawhi Leonard finished with team-highs of 21 points (7-17 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 4-5 FT) and 11 rebounds, along with six assists across 35 minutes for the Clippers in the victory. Norman Powell and James Harden scored 20 points apiece for Los Angeles. Nikola Jokic registered his second straight triple-double of the series, finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists over 37 minutes for Denver. Jamal Murray also scored 23 points.
HOW BOTH TEAMS GOT HERE: DENVER
After winning the franchise’s first NBA championship in 2023 behind the herculean efforts of superstar center Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets have experienced a slight regression. Denver finished with a 57-25 record last year — which was four more wins than they had in 2023 when they won the title — and earned the No. 2 seed in the loaded Western Conference. But their season came to a stunning end when the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves upset them in a contentious seven-game series in the Western Conference semis/second round. Minnesota won Game 7 in Denver to advance.
With the exception of lingering injuries for Jamal Murray and Aaron Goron, the 2024-25 season seemed to coming along fine for the Denver Nuggets. Everything changed on April 8 when Denver made the shocking decision to fire long-time head coach Michael Malone. The firing of Malone caught everyone off guard as their was less than a week to go in the regular season, and Denver had one of the best records in the stacked Western Conference at 47-32.
Michael Malone coached Denver for 10 years and finished with a 471-327 record. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in wins, in addition to winning Denver’s only NBA championship. It has been speculated that Malone did not get along with General Manager Calvin Booth — who was also fired with Malone — which caused a rift in the organization. Ownership concluded that firing both Malone and Booth was the best solution. Assistant Mike Adelman — son of Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman — was named the interim head coach. Denver rallied to win the final three games of the regular season following Malone’s firing to finish 50-32 and secure the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.
Superstar center Nikola Jokic notched perhaps his best season to date this year. The 30-year-old, three-time MVP became the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double (29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists) for an entire season. He joined Oscar Robertson and current teammate Russell Westbrook to accomplish the tremendous feat. Jokic has registered two straight triple-doubles in this first-round series against the Clippers.
HOW BOTH TEAMS GOT HERE: LA CLIPPERS
In July, the Los Angeles Clippers made the decision to part ways with free agent Paul George. They allowed him to sign elsewhere without making an effort to retain him. Jettisoning George brought an end to the ill-fated Paul George-Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers signed the All-Star duo as free agents in July 2019 with the belief that they’d lead the franchise to one or more NBA titles. But what resulted for the Clippers was multiple injuries for both players, which led to minimal playoff success over 5 seasons.
The loss of Paul George and the unknown status of Kawhi Leonard meant limited expectations for the 2024-25 Los Angeles Clippers. Leonard suffered a knee injury during Game 4 of the Clippers’ first-round series loss to Dallas last April. Leonard only played 2 games in that series, and his status remained a mystery to everyone during the offseason. It was assumed that the Clippers would be in for a tough season as they took the court without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard for the first time since October 2018.
Despite the 2024-25 season beginning in limbo and uncertainty for the Los Angeles Clippers, they received excellent play from the trio of 11-time All-Star James Harden (team-leading 22.8 pts, 8.7 asts, 5.8 rebs, 1.5 stls, 3 threes in 79 games), veteran scorer Norman Powell (21.8 pts, 3.2 rebs, 1.2 stls, 48.4% from 2, 41.8% from 3 in 60 games) and emerging center Ivica Zubac (career highs 16.8 pts and 12.6 rebs, 1.1 blks, 62.8% from 2 in 80 games). The trio led the Clippers to a respectable 19-15 record without Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers staying afloat without Leonard boosted the impact of his return as they’d be in position to finish the regular season strong and move up in the standings if he regained his All-NBA form.
Kawhi Leonard made his highly-anticipated season debut on Jan. 4 against Atlanta — a 131-105 victory — at home. The 33-year old, six-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP was rusty initially, but quickly regained his All-NBA form. He finished the year averaging 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.1 threes per game while shooting 49.8 from the floor and 41.1 percent from beyond the arc across 37 games.
Kawhi Leonard’s elite play on offense and defense elevated the Clippers level of play as they went 26-11 with him in the lineup and ended the year on a 9-game winning streak. Leonard has been even better through three games in the postseason, averaging 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.7 steals while shooting 60.8 percent from the floor and 50 percent from long distance. After being plagued by injuries over the last four seasons, Leonard appears to be back in peak form. This bodes well for the Clippers chances to make a deep playoff run.
THE PICK: CLIPPERS (-6)
The Clippers dominated Denver on Thursday night as they returned home for Game Three and played the first playoff game ever at the new Intuit Dome. With Kawhi Leonard back in peak form, along with a strong supporting cast, I expect the Clippers to dominate the Nuggets again tonight. Lay the Points and take the Clippers tonight!
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NBA Playoff Picks 4/26