Aaron Gordon scored 22 points, Christian Braun had 21 and the host Denver Nuggets used a big third quarter to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 120-101 in Game 7 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series on Saturday night.
Denver advances to face the top-seeded Thunder in the conference semifinals.
Game 1 is Monday night in Oklahoma City.
Nikola Jokic finished two assists shy of a triple-double, posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists along with three steals.
“In the playoffs, we know that everybody needs to step up,” Jokic said. “Is it offensive? Is it defensive? Really, whatever. Energy-wise, in players, everybody needs to step up. And everybody who plays needs to contribute something, especially today … everybody did that.”
The Nuggets had six scorers reach double figures. Russell Westbrook had 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, Jamal Murray also scored 16 points and Michael Porter Jr. finished with 15.
Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 22 points, Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 14 rebounds, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 12 off the bench and Derrick Jones Jr. also had 12.
James Harden was held to seven points on 2-for-8 shooting but dished out 13 assists for the Clippers, who lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight season.
“I haven’t thought about the offseason, to be honest,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I thought about OKC; that’s what I was thinking. But it didn’t work out that way. … It’s frustrating losing, but I’m not frustrated with the guys in the locker room.”
The Nuggets outscored Los Angeles 37-21 in the second quarter to take an 11-point halftime lead and came out hot in the third.
Jokic hit a fall-away 16-footer, Gordon fed Braun for a 3-pointer then dunked to make it 65-50 and prompt a Clippers timeout.
Harden missed a short jumper and Norman Powell had a turnover and layup blocked, while Porter drained a pair of 3-pointers. Gordon tipped in Murray’s miss to make it 75-50 with 8:12 left in the third quarter.
Jokic converted a three-point play and Gordon dunked off a lob pass from Braun to give Denver a 28-point game with 5:40 left in the third.
“I don’t think this team was 30 points better than us, and we’ve seen it throughout the first six games of this series,” Leonard said. “But you got to give them credit. They came out and fought, ran hard in transition, got easy points, and they made shots.”
Jokic picked up three fouls in 48 seconds late in the third and went to the bench with five and the Nuggets leading 89-61. Murray’s two buckets got Denver to the fourth quarter leading 93-66.
The Nuggets pushed the lead to as much as 35 to open the fourth. Bogdanovic scored six points in an 8-0 run, but Los Angeles cleared the bench with 6:53 left.
The Clippers reserves, led by Kobe Brown’s 13 points, cut the deficit to 17 but never threatened.
Reuters
