DENVER — The Clippers were gritty, but the Denver Nuggets proved a little bit grittier.
The Nuggets needed just a few minutes with a lead and an extra five minutes to steal Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, 112-110 in overtime, on Saturday afternoon at Ball Arena.
Former Clipper Russell Westbrook showed up in some of the biggest moments for the Nuggets, gathering an offensive rebound and a second-chance layup to take a 93-92 lead – their first since the first quarter – then hitting a corner 3-pointer to give his team a 98-96 lead with less than 24 seconds left in regulation. The Clippers’ James Harden made a floater to tie the score at 98-all with 18.1 seconds left in regulation, then Denver couldn’t get off a shot on its final possession.
The Nuggets never trailed in overtime, but the Clippers kept it tight. Christian Braun hit a 3-pointer from the wing to give Denver a 108-104 lead with 59 seconds left. Harden got the Clippers back within one on a long 3-pointer with 27 seconds left, but Aaron Gordon made a pair of free throws with 10.9 seconds left.
Westbrook, the former Leuzinger High and UCLA star, knocked an inbounds pass away from – and off of – Harden, then Jokic added two free throws with 6.5 seconds left for a five-point lead to secure the win before Norman Powell added a buzzer 3-pointer for the Clippers.
Jokic finished with 29 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds and Gordon added 25 points, including a pair of key free throws late in regulation. Jamal Murray added 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Nuggets, who improved to 4-0 under interim coach David Adelman, Michael Malone’s replacement.
Harden led the Clippers with 32 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Kawhi Leonard added 22 points and Ivica Zubac had 21 points and 13 rebounds.
The Clippers, who had won 18 of their past 21 games and eight straight to close the regular season, will look to level the best-of-seven series in Game 2 on Monday night.
During the Clippers’ late-season sprint to 50 wins, they nearly earned home-court advantage for the first round. On Saturday, the fifth-seeded visitors slowed and simplified things early and nearly swiped that advantage from the fourth-seeded Nuggets in the opener.
Denver’s defense didn’t provide much resistance through the first quarter and much of the second and the Clippers led by as much as 15 points before halftime. The Clippers’ game plan seemed clearly geared toward getting easy looks at the basket, whether they came via pick-and-rolls or sneaky backdoor cuts.
Zubac was an early beneficiary, mostly by finding and punishing mismatches. When the Nuggets sent help, Kris Dunn made timely back cuts for easy layups. Harden caught fire early with three tough driving layups in a row at one point, then two huge 3-pointers to close the first quarter.
The Nuggets kept it close with 10-0 and 11-0 runs toward the end of the first two quarters and closed to within 53-49 by halftime. The Clippers maintained a lead for much of regulation but the Nuggets never let them get comfortable.
The Nuggets tightened things at the beginning of the fourth quarter after Gordon hit free throws to cut the Clippers’ lead to one. Murray hit a pair of big 3-pointers from the left wing, one of which tied the score at 81 for the first time since early in the first quarter.
The Clippers went on a short run that included a Nicolas Batum 3-pointer from the wing and a Harden free throw off of a technical foul on Jokic. But the Nuggets kept the pressure on.
This was the eighth time since 2019 that the Nuggets rallied to win a playoff game after trailing by at least 15 points.
More to come on this story.