Clippers sail away with Game 3 over Nuggets, 117-83

James Harden was the primary catalyst in the Clippers’ first half explosion tonight | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Los Angeles’ top four scorers nearly match Denver’s full-game output tonight

Los Angeles used an 20-2 run spanning the first and second quarters to take control of Game 3, and along with a football-like 27-13 finish, won going away 117-83. The Clippers knocked down 11 more threes than the frigid Nuggets tonight. Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had more than half of the team’s production tonight, but received little else from the other starters aside from Aaron Gordon’s hot first quarter.

Leonard (21 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Harden (20 points and 9 assists) again led the way for the victorious Clippers, and received balanced production throughout their rotation – Ivica Zubac (19 points and 9 rebounds), Norman Powell (20 points), Nic Batum (12 points), and Derrick Jones, Jr. (10 points).

Jokic (23 points, 13 assists, and 13 rebounds) had one of the quieter non-Westbrook triple-doubles in recent years, while Murray’s impact (23 points and 4 assists) – outside of a second quarter burst – were relatively muted in the shadow of LA’s fireworks. Jokic and Murray’s bench failed them and, despite having over 60 minutes of combined playing time, put up an unbelievably bad six points.

The teams lit up the Intuit Dome with six of their first seven three attempts finding their way home. Gordon started 4-for-4 to pick up a quick 11 points. Norm Powell and Kris Dunn had a pair of threes to keep LA nibbling at the Nuggets’ heels. Once Leonard sat, and seemingly on cue, Harden caught fire from deep and near the basket. Denver squandered a hot shooting start and ended the first down 28-35.

Los Angeles continued to pepper the faulty Denver defense with a handful of threes and enough baskets deep in the paint while Jokic got his first rest of the night. Murray was the only Nugget to have any halfcourt success. Leonard and Harden resumed their series-long success all around the court patiently poking and prodding the Denver perimeter. Harden ran a side pick-and-roll repeatedly that garnered opportunities right at the rim or eventually to the other side. Leonard gave Jokic a bit of his own medicine by finding a diving Jones, Jr. for an emphatic slam to make it 65-47 at the half.

Powell asserted himself in the third period to get Los Angeles out to a 21 point margin. Without Michael Porter, Jr. and Russell Westbrook, Denver provided little resistance the rest of the way. Powell gored the Nugget defense to get a pair of and-1s. Batum added to his impactful outside shooting totals by nailing a wing three and stealing Murray’s pass to end the third with the Nuggets staring at a 20 point hole.

Observations

I forget which ESPN sportscaster it was, but I always loved it when he referred to the Nuggets as “the rich and creamies.”
NBA TV needs to be the place to go watch Orlando/Cleveland/Miami/Indiana-type series (and the 2026 #4 Spurs / #5 Blazers first-round match-up) and not Nuggets / Clippers.
If a hobbled Porter, Jr. continues to be a passenger on the boat every other game this series, Denver will be eliminated early next Tuesday.
Sequence of the Game #1: On two straight possessions, Jokic, operating from the right elbow, found a baseline-cutting Christian Braun for dunks late in the first quarter. Two possessions later, Jokic no-looked a feed to Murray at the same spot Braun got to for yet another lay-up.
Sequence of the Game #2: Zubac could not be kept off the offensive boards late in the opening half, and after his tap back to Harden, the bearded one drove in for an and-1 to grow the cushion to 20.
Sequence of the Game #3: LA had their own version of the Beautiful Game midway through the third as the ball moved around the perimeter to Leonard for a corner three.

Game Rundown

Denver got the best opening possible as Zubac airballed a 5-footer, and Gordon converted an and-1 at the other end. Once that bucket went down, Gordon went bonkers over the next several minutes. Powell and Dunn saw their threes go down. Murray matched Leonard on three’s and the Nuggets went up 14-11. Jokic got three successive assists for lay-ups, while Harden took advantage of Leonard’s rest to knock down a pull-up three. Harden lured Peyton Watson into consecutive fouls, and his lay-up and stepback three put the Clippers ahead by four. Nic Batum’s wing three put LA up seven after one.

Zubac and Jones, Jr. kickstarted a 7-0 run start to the second period and built upon the lead that the Clippers nabbed from Denver. Batum’s second three put LA up 15. Unsurprisingly DeAndre Jordan missed both of his free throws. Batum’s third three, all three coming from the same side of the court, outdid the two field goals that Murray put up. Westbrook’s three cut the deficit to ten. A classic Leonard baseline turnaround extended the Clipper advantage to 18. Murray’s driving lay-up still wasn’t enough to draw the Nuggets closer than 16 or get them over 50 points.

Los Angeles ran a halfcourt clinic after halftime over the first six minutes of the stanza to expand their advantage to 24. Powell scored often and punctuated his mini-run by stealing a pass intended for Murray and soaring to the rim for a fast-break dunk. Westbrook did not return to the game after the break, and was replaced by a pedestrian Julian Strawther. Even Ben Simmons felt enough juice to attempt a turnaround hook in the paint – which missed. Powell’s turnaround in the middle of the lane capped a great quarter for him, and the Clippers went to the fourth up 20.