No Game 7 choke this time.
The Clippers laid down early in the fourth quarter of a Nuggets closeout win Saturday — and then Denver proceeded to dance on their grave in a 120-101 win. Here are three key takeaways as the Nuggets advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
Christian Braun continues to swallow up James Harden: As seconds ticked away on a first half Saturday night that tilted all Nuggets, the Clippers’ James Harden isolated on the right wing, inviting Christian Braun into his patented two-step routine.
Braun didn’t much feel like dancing.
As the shot clock wound down, Braun stayed airtight to Harden’s body without fouling, a well-timed double by Jamal Murray forcing Harden into a stifled stepback three that hit only air. And Braun turned towards the baseline as the 24-second buzzer rang red, bellowing, another possession won against one of the NBA’s star guards.
“He’s definitely accepted the challenge,” Nikola Jokic said of Braun’s matchup with Harden, after Game 6
Braun didn’t just accept the challenge: He straight-up won it. As Harden scuffled his way to another Game 7 stinker in an otherwise all-time career — 13 assists, but just 2-of-8 for seven points — Braun outplayed him on both ends, the Nuggets’ young guard finishing with 21 points in a crucial performance.
Nuggets blitz the non-Jokic minutes: For much of the first quarter Saturday night, the Nuggets’ MVP looked frustrated and weary, with a stunning 0-of-5 start from the floor.
It didn’t matter.
He finished 5-of-13. That didn’t matter. Because, in perhaps the turning point of the series, the Nuggets won the three minutes that Jokic was off the floor to start the second quarter…by six points.
A 26-21 Clippers first-quarter lead was quickly flipped, behind some tremendous backup minutes from Peyton Watson and a three-pointer from Russell Westbrook. And when it seemed Los Angeles had one final window late in the third quarter, Jokic picking up his fifth foul with Denver holding to a 27-point lead, the Nuggets slammed it shut.
By the time the Clippers finally clawed back to 27 in the fourth quarter, they’d already waved the white flag, coach Tyronn Lue pulling James Harden and Kawhi Leonard off the floor. Jamal Murray hit a couple of settle-down jumpers, and Michael Porter Jr. provided some timely shotmaking in a gutsy 15-point performance. A bench-driven push from Los Angeles down the stretch of the fourth quarter came much too late.
Westbrook’s best playoff shooting series, ever: The Russ Rodeo has thrown the Nuggets several times, predictably, during this first-round matchup with his former team. But the Denver guard largely grabbed the bull by the horns in the highest-optimized sixth-man version of Westbrook the league has seen in years, with an irreplaceable performance in Game 7.
As Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray combined for a putrid 0-for-9 start from the floor, Westbrook harnessed the energy at Ball Arena and flung it right into the Clippers’ craw, between a massive steal-turned-outlet to Jokic for an and-one in the second half and a couple massive threes. After a Nuggets win, a scalding-hot Westbrook ended the series at 42% from deep. It’s a career high for any playoff series throughout a polarizing 17-year NBA career.
The floor spacing was integral, again, in Game 7. And Westbrook’s energy, with five steals and a well-earned fourth-quarter technical for rocking the rim after a dunk, completely overwhelmed the Clippers’ bench depth Saturday.
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