DENVER — Through two games, one thing is clear. Nothing is going to come easy in a first-round playoff series between the Clippers and the Denver Nuggets.
After ending up on the wrong side of an overtime thriller in the series opener on Saturday, the Clippers rode a 39-point effort from star forward Kawhi Leonard to a 105-102 victory in Game 2 on Monday night, swiping home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series as it shifts to Los Angeles for the next two games.
Leonard powered the Clippers across the finish line Monday, authoring a vintage performance in a game that featured 18 lead changes and 12 ties. The two-time NBA Finals MVP shot 15 for 19 from the field (4 for 7 from 3-point range), hit a pair of midrange basket late and came up with a steal in the final minute.
Leonard stole a Nikola Jokic pass with 37 seconds left, but James Harden missed at the other end and the Nuggets’ Christian Braun grabbed the defensive rebound with 11 seconds left. Braun was long on a 3-point attempt with six seconds left, and Jokic grabbed the rebound but also missed a 3-point try with one second remaining.
Games 3 and 4 are Thursday night and Saturday afternoon at the Intuit Dome, where the Clippers went 30-11 during the regular season.
James Harden had 18 points and seven assists, Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Norman Powell added 13 points for the fifth-seeded Clippers.
Jokic had his 19th career playoff triple-double for the fourth-seeded Nuggets (26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists), but he had seven of his team’s 20 turnovers and missed four of his 10 free-throw attempts. Jamal Murray had 23 points and six assists, Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points and 15 rebounds and Russell Westbrook contributed 14 points off the bench.
The Clippers haven’t lost back-to-back games since March 2-4, a stretch of 23 games, and they handed Nuggets coach David Adelman his first loss in five games since replacing Michael Malone in a stunning move on the eve of the playoffs.
The midrange shots were working early and often for Leonard.
Leonard scored 12 of his points in the first quarter. Late in the period, he backed down Murray on the baseline as the Canadian flamboyantly defended. Leonard spun into help, but knocked down the 11-footer anyway, taking the air out of the Ball Arena crowd.
He had 21 points by halftime and only missed one of his 10 shots before the break. He deflated the Denver crowd again at the halftime buzzer, making a ridiculous pull-up 3-pointer with two defenders tightly on him to break a 52-all tie.
With timely baskets down the stretch, Leonard kept the Clippers locked in a back-and-forth game. He also took better care of the ball, turning it over just once compared to his seven giveaways in Game 1. As a team, the Clippers cut their turnover total from 20 in the series opener to 11 in Game 2.
Of Jokic’s six first-half field goal attempts, five were from behind the arc. Midway through the third quarter, his frustration started to boil over. After a Leonard basket at the 8:07 mark, Jokic was visibly upset with teammates, then a couple of possessions later, he hooked and elbowed Zubac for an offensive foul. A few minutes later, he missed a pair of free throws.
Down the stretch, Westbrook made an impact against his former team again. In Game 1, a late Westbrook 3-pointer gave the Nuggets a lead that eventually helped push the game into overtime. Midway through the fourth quarter of Game 2, he hit two 3-pointers in a row from the corner to erase a six-point Clippers lead and get the arena roaring.
More to come on this story.
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