Nuggets complete second straight 3-1

comeback with Game 7 obliteration of

Clippers
 
 

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The Denver Nuggets will not be denied. With a stunning Game 7 victory against the Los
Angeles Clippers, Denver became the first team in NBA history to come back from
consecutive 3-1 series deficits to advance.

Improbably, the Nuggets fielded the two best players in a Game 7 against Kawhi
Leonard and Paul George. Nikola Jokic posted a monster triple-double, and Jamal
Murray scored 40 points in Denver’s 104-89 win, securing a date with the Lakers in the
Western Conference finals and spoiling the anticipated all-L.A. tilt.
In an embarrassing loss, Leonard and George combined for just 24 points on 10-for-28
shooting. They missed all 11 of their shots in the fourth quarter, finishing their final frame of
the season scoreless. Title favorites after taking a commanding series lead in Game 4, the
Clippers blew a double-digit first-half lead for the third straight game and again fell short of
the franchise’s first-ever conference finals appearance.

The union of Leonard and George last summer vaulted the Clippers into the championship
conversation, along with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rival Lakers. Leonard’s
reign as Finals MVP will come to an end 16 months after he led the Toronto Raptors to their
first title. He arrived in L.A. with the hope that the Clippers could shed their reputation for
misery, but instead stacked their most painful loss ever on top of it.

What felt like an inevitable L.A. showdown was theirs for the taking. Instead, pressure now
mounts for the Clippers in the offseason. The core of a contender is under contract for next
season — and only next season. The front office mortgaged the future to pair George with
Leonard, trading Danilo Gallinari, rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, four first-round picks
and two pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now clouded by bitter defeat, George
and Leonard can both become unrestricted free agents in 2021.

“It hurts,” George told the media after a 10-point night on 16 shots that came with five
turnovers against two assists. “It hurst, but you move on. Year one together, first run
together. Of course we wanted to win this, but we’re very optimistic about us being together
and building something going down the road.”

The blown series lead also raises questions about coach Doc Rivers’ ability to right the ship
next season. Tuesday’s loss marked the sixth time a team coached by Rivers has blown a
series lead with three wins.

“We didn’t meet [expectations],” Rivers told reporters after his second blown 3-1 lead in
L.A., “and that’s the bottom line. I’m the coach, and I’ll take any blame for it. But we didn’t
meet our expectations, clearly.”

“We did have championship expectations,” added Clippers guard Lou Williams, who scored
only seven points on 11 shots. “We had the talent to do it. I don’t think we had the chemistry
to do it, and it showed.”

But enough about the Clippers. The Nuggets earned this.

Nuggets stars Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic thoroughly outplayed the Clippers in Game 7.
(Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
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The two-man game between Jokic and Murray was brilliant. Jokic finished with 16 points, 22
rebounds and 13 assists, commanding Game 7 despite a 5-for-13 shooting effort. His first
assist found Murray a minute into the game, and his 12th found him again for a three-
pointer that gave the Nuggets a 98-80 lead with 2:24 to play — the moment reality set in
that they were actually going to erase a second straight 3-1 deficit.

In between, Jokic proved time and again why he is the greatest passing center in NBA
history. Drawing double teams, the 25-year-old found cutters and curlers and spot-up
shooters. It was an absolute clinic.
“We are just not accepting that somebody's better than us,” said Jokic, per The Denver
Post’s Mike Singer.

On the other side of their pick and roll was Murray, a 23-year-old who logged his fourth 40-
point outing of the playoffs. The three prior came during Denver’s 3-1 comeback against the
Utah Jazz in the first round.