Nuggets stun Clippers in Game 7, make history with another 3-1 comeback

The Denver Nuggets stunned the LA Clippers in Game 7, advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

For the second time in the 2020 NBA Playoffs, the Denver Nuggets overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the series. In the process, not only did they become the first team in NBA history to do so, but they advanced to the Western Conference Finals and sent home the second title favorite to exit these playoffs prematurely in the conference semifinals.

Following yet another second-half collapse, the LA Clippers now join the Milwaukee Bucks among the eliminated title contenders, falling to an abysmal 0-8 all time in potential closeout games that would’ve sent this franchise to its first ever conference finals appearance.

Despite being the talk of the NBA free agency period last summer when Paul George maneuvered his way to Los Angeles to join Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers’ two superstars came up short in Game 7 on Tuesday night, resulting in a stunning 15-point victory for the Nuggets, who were massacred in Game 1, trailed 3-1 in the series and came back from double-digit deficits in Games 5, 6 and 7 to improbably win the series.

The Clippers led 56-54 at halftime, but a Jamal Murray scoring flurry — with 20 of his 25 first-half points coming in the second quarter — kept the younger Nuggets within striking distance.

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As has been the case so many times in this series, the Clippers’ offense completely died in the second half, and Denver’s stars sensed when to take over in order to propel this franchise to its first conference finals since 2009.

LA took a 61-54 lead two minutes into the third quarter, but the Nuggets went on a 16-2 run over the next five minutes to turn a 7-point deficit into a 7-point lead. Denver outscored the Clips 28-18 in the third quarter, and Doc Rivers’ offense completely shriveled up in the fourth quarter, as his team had two points midway through the final frame and didn’t record its first fourth-quarter field goal until the 5-minute mark.

Murray led the way with 40 points and 5 assists on 15-of-26 shooting, including 6-for-13 from 3-point range, to outscore LA’s dynamic duo by himself. Nikola Jokic notched a 16-point, 22-rebound, 13-assist triple-double, becoming the first player to record a 15-rebound triple-double through three quarters in NBA playoff history. Gary Harris and Jerami Grant added 14 points apiece in the win.

Montrezl Harrell led the Clips with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the bench, but Leonard struggled to the tune of 14 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds, shooting just 6-for-22 from the field. Paul George was just as bad, finishing his Game 7 with 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting.