Nuggets take Game 1 with instant overtime classic against Clippers, 112-110

Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Russell Westbrook demonstrated championship pedigree in their comeback win this afternoon | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

LA and Denver treated the viewing audience to a magnificent fourth quarter and overtime showcasing their veterans, but the host Nuggets had just enough to finish ahead

In a tight and contentious opening act – featuring the singular greatness of Denver’s Nikola Jokic and the two-headed starpower of Los Angeles’ James Harden and Kawhi Leonard – that deserved extra air time; went into overtime and saw the Nuggets pull out a hard fought Game 1 win. Jokic’s teammates were instrumental in wresting the lead away from LA and holding on for dear life to the end. Much-maligned Russell Westbrook caused a Clipper turnover, and the MVP’s free throws secured the 112-110 result.

In the last five minutes of the game, Denver claimed over a half-dozen key offensive rebounds to extend countless possessions. In the final minute of regulation, Murray knocked the ball off of Leonard to cause a turnover, and Westbrook hit an open corner three, which had the chance to stand as the game-winner. But Harden willed a floater home to tie the game at 98, and Westbrook squandered a chance to get his team a game-winning opportunity.

The Clippers’ veteran duo of Harden (32 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds) and Leonard (22 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals) carried the team’s offense in both halves, while they received welcome secondary scoring from Ivica Zubac (21 points and 13 rebounds) and Kris Dunn (10 points)

Denver’s Jokic (29 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals), while defended well by Zubac, still found his spots in the second half. Running-mate Jamal Murray (21 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists) had an inefficient effort, but the Nuggets received spirited efforts in the second half and beyond from Aaron Gordon (25 points and 8 rebounds) and Westbrook (15 points and 8 rebounds), who made a ton of crunch-time plays at both ends.

The Clippers stormed out of the game getting any manner of shot that they wanted. Zubac cleaned up at and around the basket for eight early points and was an efficient fulcrum to move the ball from side to side and top to bottom. Denver had to earn more of their points from the free throw line to keep up. Harden, after a nice start, chucked out a handful of bricks, and the Nuggets’ smalls took advantage at the other end to erase that advantage. Harden’s pair of stepback threes stemmed the tide and LA left the first up 35-27.

The software within Leonard turned on and he put up a quick dozen in the second quarter, while Denver continued to struggle to find any secondary contributions beyond Jokic. Though it looked like LA would run away with the outcome several times through the second, the Nuggets began to get after and corral loose balls, found just enough field goals from the non-Jokic players, and distracted Zubac enough in the paint to cause necessary misses. Denver got within 49-53 going into the break.

Dunn continued to provide surprising offense to start the third period. Jokic pivoted and grinded his way into several field goals to keep the Clippers from pulling away. Denver got as close as two, but the Clippers created some wiggle room as the Nuggets continued to struggle in the halfcourt. Jokic’s dozen points helped get Denver back to within three 72-75.

Observations

The color contrast – red (Clippers) / blue (Nuggets) was great.
Just love that Jokic never seems to be bothered or pressured to go at a different pace.
As good of a shooter Bogdan Bogdanovic has been, he looked useless out there defending on the perimeter.
Sequence of the Game: Using Kris Dunn as the baseline cutter, the Clippers ran a high/low set using Zubac as the post-feeder to get Dunn several easy buckets in the first quarter.
Jokic Sequence of the Game: In the final moments of the third quarter, the Joker anticipated a bad pass from Bogdanovic and ‘outran’ two Clippers down the court for a gorgeous (by his standards) lay-up.
Is that Nic Batum or 2013 Boris Diaw out there?
2020s Jokic and Zubac = 2010s Duncan and Marc Gasol?

Game Rundown

Jokic laced a cross-court pass to Michael Porter, Jr. for a three, and hit one of his own shortly after. Zubac went right back at him on the other end to get two quick baskets. Harden tried to lure (unsuccessfully) Murray into a foul at one end, and Murray hit a clock-beating three at the other end over the bearded one. While the outside shots for Denver fell short, LA’s attempts were accurate. The only setback LA encountered was Harden’s second foul. He stayed in the game and his and-1 put the Clippers up ten. With Peyton Watson and Christian Braun pushing the pace, Denver mounted a 10-0 run to tighten the gap. Harden hit two impressive threes to make it an 8-point Clipper lead.

Leonard took over the bucket-getting responsibilities at the start of the second period, and LA went up two touchdowns. Again, the only thing that stopped a hot Clipper was foul trouble with Leonard getting two. Denver continued to struggle from outside the arc., and Leonard got to his 12th point of the quarter before the Nuggets got to theirs. In homage to WWE, Zubac and Jokic picked up offensive fouls in consecutive possessions. Harden picked up his third foul, and Braun took his second steal and threw down a dunk to bring the Nuggets within nine. Bob Myers noted “this comeback has been fueled by effort.” Jokic whacked Norm Powell on the arm to get HIS third foul. Jokic then found Russell Westbrook in the corner for a three. Despite all of the offensive success that LA had, they were separated from Denver by only four points at the half.

Aaron Gordon started the Nuggets’ scoring in the third quarter while Harden hit a transition three before getting his fourth foul trying to deny Gordon positioning. Jokic seemed to get the message that Denver likely needed a 40-point game from him and hit two early buckets. The teams liberally traded baskets over the middle part of the frame. A herky-jerky and-1 and nifty lay-in from Murray drew Denver within two. The Clippers doubled Jokic from the weak side to create some deflections and disrupt several possessions. Possession given to the Clippers was challenged and overturned in the last minute of the third and Jokic’s fast-break lay-up made it a 75-72 game heading into the fourth.