Nuggets, buoyed by dramatic dunk, seek series edge on Clippers

Denver pulled off a stunning win Saturday to regain home-court advantage in its Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Los Angeles Clippers, and now the Nuggets try to grab control in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Aaron Gordon’s slam to beat the clock — the first walk-off dunk in NBA playoff history — evened the series 2-2 and gave Denver new life after two disappointing losses.

Now a best-of-seven series is down to a best-of-three scenario, with the Nuggets hosting Game 5 and possibly Game 7. The winner of Game 5 when tied 2-2 has historically most often won a series, but Denver has experienced heartbreak twice.

Twice in the last seven seasons, the Nuggets were tied 2-2, won Game 5 but went on to lose Game 7 at home. It happened against Portland in 2019 and versus Minnesota last season.

Los Angeles, which won Game 2 in Denver, isn’t discouraged after letting Game 4 slip away. It’s how this series was supposed to go.

“It’s like another four, five seeding series,” Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard said. “You usually get some tough battles in these seedings.”

Fighting became literal when the teams nearly came to blows at the end of Saturday’s first half. No one was ejected but six technical fouls were called and Michael Porter Jr. was in danger of getting suspended when he started to come off the bench.

“Tight, intense playoff series. No team willing to give an inch. No team willing to back down,” Los Angeles guard Norman Powell said. “So it’s going to get chippy. We’re going to fight. We’ve got guys that like it.”

Leonard has played well on offense and defense in the series and leads the Clippers in scoring average at 26.5 points per game. The Nuggets have limited James Harden after his 32-point effort in Game 1; he is averaging 17.7 points in the last three games.

Los Angeles has four players averaging double figures in scoring in this series, but it has used its bench more. Eight players are logging at least 14 minutes a game and Harden’s 39.5 minutes is the team high.

Denver has been more reliant on its starters, with three — Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun — averaging more than 40 minutes. Gordon is right there at 39.8 minutes per game.

Jokic leads the team in points (28.5), rebounds (13.5) and assists (10.8) in this series. Porter is averaging 10.5 points despite playing with an injured left shoulder.

The Nuggets’ short bench is even shorter with Russell Westbrook out. He didn’t play Saturday due to a left foot injury but participated in Denver’s walk-through practice on Monday. Interim coach David Adelman said Westbrook is a game-time decision, and the team listed the veteran guard as questionable.

Adelman, who took over the Nuggets with three games left in the regular season, was open about his reliance on his starters.

“You can’t worry about what they’re going to say afterwards,” he said Monday. “Our starting five has to be on the court a majority of the game and I’m going to do my best to make sure they get breaks.”

–Field Level Media