Game 1 between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers lived up to the hype.
The Clippers took early control Saturday with a 15-point first half lead. But the Nuggets rallied in a thrilling second half before securing a 112-110 win in overtime, fueled by several big plays by Russell Westbrook down the stretch.
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“My job is to be the low man,” Westbrook told reporters afterward, “and find a way to — excuse my language — f*** s*** up.”
The start of Saturday’s game played out as a highlight reel of everything predicted to go wrong for the Nuggets in this series. James Harden had his way with a porous Nuggets defense en route to 15 first-quarter points. Ivica Zubac lived up to his status as the anti-Joker with a strong start on both sides of the court in his matchup with Nikola Jokić. And Jokić got little help from a supporting cast absent a fellow All-Star.
The Clippers opened a 51-36 second-quarter lead, stunning a Denver home crowd that two seasons ago cheered on Jokić and the Nuggets to the franchise’s first NBA championship.
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But the Nuggets closed the half on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 53-49 at the break, and the game was a battle throughout the second half and overtime. Denver cut its deficit to one point on multiple occasions before a Jamal Murray 3 tied the game at 81-81.
Nikola Jokic (15) and the Nuggets have a 1-0 series lead over the Clippers. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
(AAron Ontiveroz via Getty Images)
A Westbrook put-back gave Denver its first lead of the second half at 93-92 with 3:37 remaining. Another Westbrook layup retook the lead for Denver at 95-94. Then, with the Nuggets trailing 96-95 in the final 30 seconds, Westbrook hit a corner 3 on a pass from Jokić to give the Nuggets a two-point lead.
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But Harden answered with a layup in traffic to tie the game with 18.7 seconds remaining, ultimately forcing overtime after Denver failed to get off a shot on its final possession of regulation.
Aaron Gordon opened the extra session with a dunk on Denver’s next possession, and the Nuggets never trailed again.
A Christian Braun 3 extended the Denver lead to 108-104 with 59.1 seconds remaining. Then Westbrook, who played with Denver’s starters down the stretch in regulation and for the entirety of overtime, came up with the final big play, forcing a turnover out of bounds off Harden on a failed Clippers inbounds play.
Jokić extended Denver’s lead to 112-107 with free throws on the ensuing Nuggets possession to ice the win. Norman Powell’s 3-pointer with 1 second remaining had no bearing on the outcome of the game.
The win gives Denver a 1-0 series lead in one of the mot anticipated matchups of the first round following a tumultuous conclusion to the regular season.
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Denver entered the playoffs surrounded by chaos after Nuggets boss Josh Kroenke fired head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with three games remaining in the regular season. With former Malone assistant David Adelman as interim head coach, the Nuggets won their final three games to clinch the No. 4 seed in the West and home-court advantage against Los Angeles.
The Clippers, meanwhile, entered the playoffs on a tear with an eight-game winning streak and an 18-3 finish to the regular season behind a resurgent Kawhi Leonard. But it was the Nuggets, anchored by a core that won a championship in 2023, who proved to be the better and the more poised team in Game 1.
Jokić, as usual, led the way with 29 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds and three steals. He scored 12 points in the third quarter, including a breakaway layup after a steal to cut the Clippers’ lead to 75-72.
Murray, who was under fire down the stretch of the regular season as he missed six straight games with a mysterious knee ailment, tallied 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a throwback to his playoff performances from the 2023 championship run. Gordon scored an efficient 25 points (8-of-14 from the field) with eight rebounds, five of which came on offense to provide the Nuggets with critical second chances down the stretch.
And Westbrook, who’s carved out a late-game role with the Nuggets despite some high-profile miscues in pressure situations, played a volatile 34 minutes off the bench. He took and missed several shots that the Clippers defense gave him in a 5-of-17 effort from the field. But he made up for the misses with his multitude of clutch plays late in the fourth quarter and in overtime to help seal the Denver victory.
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Leonard, who sparked the hot Clippers run down the stretch run of the regular season, finished with 22 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals. But he faded late on offense with just four points in the final 7:45 of regulation and overtime combined, and finished with seven turnovers.
Zubac, who’s fresh off a career campaign in the regular season, defended Jokić as well as anybody during the regular season. He played a strong game on both sides of the ball Saturday, with 21 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 10-of-15 from the field.
Harden led the Clippers with 43 minutes despite playing much of the game in foul trouble after picking up three in the first half. He led the Clippers with 32 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. But it wasn’t enough to lead Los Angeles to victory.
The Clippers and Nuggets will face off again in Game 2 on Monday in Denver.
