DENVER (AP) — When David Adelman took over the Denver Nuggets following the shocking dismissal of Michael Malone on the eve of the NBA playoffs, he engineered a full-court press, so to speak, to close out the regular season.
They flew to Sacramento and beat the Kings by eight points a day after the winningest coach in franchise history was fired along with the general manager who put the final pieces in place for the team's only NBA title, in 2023.
They followed that with big wins over playoff-bound Memphis at home and Houston on the road to secure the No. 4 seed in the West for their first-round playoff series with the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Clippers, who finished with the same 52-30 record.
The Clippers forced a Game 7 with a gritty 111-105 win Thursday night at home, sending the series back to Denver.
“You win those last three games not just to stay out of the play-in, but to get the home court in Game 7, and we earned it,” Adelman said. “That’s what I told them. You’ve earned this opportunity. ... You play all year for that. We got that opportunity, and we’re very excited to go back out there and play again.”
Maybe the Clippers have the Nuggets right where they want them, however.
The Clippers won Game 2 at Ball Arena 105-102, and twice in the Nikola Jokic era the Nuggets have succumbed in a Game 7 at home, against Portland in 2019 and against Minnesota last year when Denver blew a 20-point second-half lead.
“It’s going to be a different team. It’s going to be a different type of series,” Jamal Murray said. “We’ve just got to play our game. I don’t think there’s anything to overthink. We’ve just got to come out with the same kind of desperation, the same kind of intent. I’ve played in quite a few Game 7s, so it’s 3-3. Next team wins. Everybody is up for grabs. Everybody on the bench is ready to go, and we’re going to do everything in our power to win the game."
BetMGM Sportsbook installed the Clippers at 1 1/2-point favorites Saturday despite the Nuggets' wire-to-wire, 16-point win in Game 5 at Ball Arena.
“Game 7 is going to be tough,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But we’re ready for the challenge.”
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets
When/Where to Watch: Game 7, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Series: Tied 3-3
BetMGM Sportsbook: Clippers by 1.5.
What to Know: The Nuggets have been one of the best offensive teams with Jokic on the court and one of the worst when he's on the bench. The key for the Nuggets is to keep the game from getting away from them during the minutes that Jokic is catching a breather. In their three wins so far, the Nuggets are minus-12 without Jokic; in their three losses, they're minus-24 without the three-time MVP who is coming off the best season of his career. They were minus-7 in their Game 6 loss Thursday night. ... The Nuggets have lost four of their last five close-out games since winning the franchise's only NBA championship two years ago. ... The Clippers were the victims the last time Denver won a Game 7. That came in the conference semifinals in the Florida bubble when the Nuggets overcame a 3-1 series deficit. ... Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum teamed up for a surprisingly effective defensive effort on the typically unguardable Jokic on Thursday night. The three-time MVP was held scoreless for 11 minutes in the third quarter and went only 2 for 9 in the second half. Afterward, Adelman decried the lack of free throws Jokic got — he only got to the line once and was 1-for-2 — and said if the officials are going to let the Clippers be this physical, he's going to have his players do the same in Game 7.
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