Latest news with #Clippers-Nuggets
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
4 Critical Rotation Mistakes Costing Lakers the Series
4 Critical Rotation Mistakes Costing Lakers the Series Dive into the 2025 NBA Playoffs with expert Mark Medina on Sports Night! We break down the Lakers' struggles against the Timberwolves, JJ Redick's coaching challenges, and their looming offseason needs. Plus, we analyze the tied-up Clippers-Nuggets series, the Warriors-Rockets battle, and why the OKC Thunder are unstoppable in the West. Don't miss the hottest playoff takes! #NBA #NBAPlayoffs #Lakers #Thunder #Clippers #Warriors #Nuggets #Basketball - Subscribe for more NBA insights! - Follow Mark Medina on X: @MarkG_Medina - Hit the bell for weekly sports interviews! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:30 - Lakers vs. Timberwolves: What's Going Wrong? 4:00 - Clippers vs. Nuggets: Can Denver Turn It Around? 9:00 - Warriors vs. Rockets: Steph Curry Shines 12:00 - OKC Thunder: Unbeatable in the West? 17:00 - Outro & Follow Mark! Note: This video contains analysis based on games as of April 29, 2025. 18:52 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA playoffs: Russell Westbrook enjoys himself with hanging dunk tech in Nuggets' blowout of Clippers
Russell Westbrook had some fun against his old team in Game 7 of Clippers-Nuggets. (Photo by) Amid the carnage that was the Denver Nuggets' Game 7 blowout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, it had to feel pretty good to be Russell Westbrook. The veteran guard had a solid two-season career with the Clippers, but was jettisoned last offseason as part of a trade to the Utah Jazz that landed defensive specialist Kris Dunn. At 35 years old, Westbrook was waived by Utah and proceeded to join the Nuggets in free agency. Advertisement Westbrook is a long distance away from his years as an All-Star, but he slotted in as a bench piece for a Denver team desperate for depth and did usual thing, for better or worse. It was better on Saturday, when Westbrook stole the ball from his old team while up 29 points in the fourth quarter and took a victory dunk. Then he hung on the rim until the officials gave him the technical foul he was clearly looking for, and yelled "I don't give a f*** as he revved up a delighted Ball Arena crowd. Westbrook finished the game with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, plus five rebounds, five assists, five steals and two turnovers. Advertisement Meanwhile, Dunn finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting after falling out of the starting lineup for Game 7. He was a defensive standout for the Clippers this season, but saw his role shrink signficantly over the course of the Nuggets series. Westbrook very clearly took the trade that exchanged him for Dunn personally. The loss once again ends the Clippers' season in disappointing fashion, while the Nuggets will advance to face another old team of Westbrook's, the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who spent the first round ripping apart the Memphis Grizzlies. It might be a bit harder to get bragging rights in that one.
USA Today
03-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers: TV channel, time, how to watch Saturday
Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers: TV channel, time, how to watch Saturday Show Caption Hide Caption Thunder's preferred matchup: Clippers or Nuggets? For The Hoops crew discuss whether the Thunder would prefer to face the Clippers or Nuggets in the second round of the NBA playoffs The first Game 7 of the 2025 NBA playoffs is here. The thrilling Western Conference first-round series between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers reaches its conclusion Saturday with one last game to decide which team advances to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference semifinals beginning next week. The Clippers forced Game 7 by beating the Nuggets, 111-106, in Thursday's Game 6 in Los Angeles. The oddsmaker favor the Nuggets slightly with Saturday's matchup scheduled to be played in Denver, but this whole series has been tight. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, as well as Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, have each proven capable of putting together big performances thus far. Experts are predicting more of the same with the season on the line for both teams now. Here's how to watch Game 7 of the 2025 NBA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers: NBA COACHING ANALYSIS: Mitch Johnson has earned a shot at glory with the Spurs What time is Nuggets vs. Clippers? Game 7 between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. ET on May 3 at Ball Arena in Denver. How to watch Nuggets vs. Clippers playoff game: TV, stream Time: 7:30 p.m. ET 7:30 p.m. ET Location: Chase Center (San Francisco, California) Chase Center (San Francisco, California) TV: TNT, truTV TNT, truTV Stream: Max, Sling TV Watch Clippers-Nuggets Game 7 with Sling TV Nuggets vs. Clippers NBA playoff schedule, results Series tied, 3-3
USA Today
03-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Clippers are actually healthy in NBA playoffs. Can they win Game 7 vs. Nuggets?
Clippers are actually healthy in NBA playoffs. Can they win Game 7 vs. Nuggets? Show Caption Hide Caption Thunder's preferred matchup: Clippers or Nuggets? For The Hoops crew discuss whether the Thunder would prefer to face the Clippers or Nuggets in the second round of the NBA playoffs LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers managed to force a Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets with a 111-105 victory in Game 6 on Thursday. The Clippers' defense managed to keep Nuggets star Nikola Jokić from a triple-double (25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds). Jokic has averaged a triple-double in the series with 25.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game. James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Norman Powell led the Clippers' offense, combining for 79 points. Nicolas Batum was held in high regard by his coaches and teammates for his efforts on both ends of the floor in Game 6 and could be added to the starting lineup for Game 7. He finished with six points, six assists, five rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals on Thursday. It will be up to coach Tyronn Lue to consider whether he will check in with his players again, through individual conversations, like he did prior to Game 6. Lue's squad has seen different results throughout the series while playing in Denver. Clippers-Nuggets Game 6 takeaways: L.A. sends series back to Denver for Game 7 The Clippers split the first two games of the series on the road with the Nuggets. The two games were decided by a combined total of five points. Denver then blew out L.A. 131-115 in Game 5. Russell Westbrook played a big role in the final minutes of Game 1 as the Nuggets rallied to win in overtime. Westbrook scored 15 points in the game, including three on an uncontested shot in the corner from long range that helped give Denver a lead late in regulation. He also knocked an inbound pass away and off of Harden with 9.6 seconds left to help seal the win in overtime. Leonard helped the Clippers in Game 2 with a 39-point performance while shooting 15-of-19 from the field; his teammates combined for 26-of-66 shooting from the field. 'We can have the confidence to know that we have won there, but it's going to be a different game,' Leonard said. 'We have to come out aggressive in the first quarter and make sure they don't get a big lead on us.' The Clippers are looking to avoid having their season end with a first-round exit for a third consecutive year. In each of the previous two seasons, Leonard was a non-factor for the Clippers. He played in just two games in each of those first-round series because of injuries. He started off the 2024-25 season listed as day-to-day after undergoing a knee procedure during the offseason to address swelling. Leonard had expressed during media day in September that he expected to play the season opener, but he missed the first 34 games of the season. The Clippers went 19-15 without him. He also mentioned during the Clippers' media day that he was hoping to remain healthy enough to have a run in the playoffs. He's been able to follow through with that through the first six games. The team has not reported a single player on the injury report this postseason. The Nuggets took a lead in the series while dealing with their share of injuries. Westbrook had left foot inflammation and was considered questionable after rolling his ankle before Game 3. He missed Game 4 before rejoining the series. Michael Porter Jr. has continued to play despite a bad left shoulder. He's averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game in the series. When is Game 7 between Clippers and Nuggets? The Clippers will travel to play the Nuggets in Game 7 at Ball Arena in Denver. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on May 3 (TNT).
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
As Clippers-Nuggets series heads to Game 3, both teams know every moment matters
How close is the first-round series between the LA Clippers and the Denver Nuggets? Take one play inside of three minutes to go in Game 2 and LA leading, 98-97. Denver point guard Jamal Murray was dealing with a draining shot clock and had Clippers defender Kris Dunn in his grill more than 30 feet from the basket. Murray had his choice of screens set by center Nikola Jokić and power forward Aaron Gordon, and he drove left by Jokić's side. All that did was get Murray trapped by Dunn and Clippers center Ivica Zubac. Advertisement Jokić popped out, so Clippers point guard James Harden left Gordon to take the next pass away once Murray picked up his dribble. Denver shooting guard Christian Braun cut from the weak-side corner, and Murray ejected the ball in Braun's direction. Kawhi Leonard, who was on Michael Porter Jr., came within inches of stealing Murray's harried pass. But Braun secured the reception and turned towards the basket, with only Norman Powell having any kind of inside position in the paint. With less than three seconds on the shot clock, Braun had to make a decision. He could have forced an attempt over Powell. Porter was cutting from the wing, completely uncovered. But Gordon was also cutting from the nail. Braun flipped it to Gordon, who took one dribble and rose for what would have been an electrifying go-ahead dunk to get Ball Arena in a frenzy. Except … Gordon, preoccupied with the shot clock, spiked the attempt so badly that the ball landed in front of Denver assistant Popeye Jones. The Nuggets never led again in Game 2, and the Clippers survived to tie the series and steal home-court advantage. 'We just had a couple missed opportunities,' Murray said after Game 2. 'We definitely had a chance to win the game, but now our minds switch, and we have to go to LA with an attack mindset and get one of these games.' That's been the story of this series so far as Game 3 awaits Thursday at Intuit Dome. Two teams playing so hard, and with such intensity, that even their mistakes are made at full speed. The Clippers had 20 turnovers in Game 1, and the 20th turnover was made in the last minute of the game while trailing by three points. The Nuggets had 20 turnovers in Game 2, and the 20th turnover was made in the last minute of the game while trailing by three points. Advertisement Out of the eight first-round series, none have been closer than Clippers-Nuggets. The point total is Clippers 215, Nuggets 214. For contrast, the Oklahoma City Thunder — who are likely awaiting the winner of this series — have outscored the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies by 70 points through the first two games of that series. Fifteen minutes of the Clippers-Nuggets series have been played in clutch time; none of the other seven series has had more than four minutes of clutch time, and three series haven't had a minute of clutch time yet (Grizzlies-Thunder, Orlando Magic-Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves-LA Lakers). This series has had several needle-moving events. Made jump shots that would have been worth an extra point if shoe sizes were smaller. Technical fouls. Missed free throws by the bushel. As the Clippers gathered Wednesday for practice, coach Tyronn Lue noted that the little things matter more in a series like this. 'That's basically our film session today,' Lue said. 'We had five plays out of timeouts that we didn't execute the right way, we were in the wrong positions. You can't waste possessions in the playoffs. Rebounding the basketball, like we talked about all year. We gave up 15 offensive rebounds. I think they beat us 50-32 on the glass. We gotta be better just understanding what we're doing. We gotta hit bodies, we gotta secure the rebounds. And when we do that, we can play with more pace and get out in transition.' The little things aren't just about what either team isn't doing or not doing well enough. It's the small moments that wind up mattering more in the big picture as well. The Clippers have been on backup center Ben Simmons' case about being more aggressive and being a threat to score. Simmons hasn't scored in double figures since the All-Star break. He hasn't attempted a free throw since Feb. 23. Leonard had multiple turnovers in Game 1 trying to find Simmons, who failed to score for the fourth straight game. Advertisement But in Game 2, there Simmons was, checking in with 6:20 left in the first quarter. It was a rotational wrinkle Lue threw out there. 'It was good for us,' Lue said with a wry smile. Asked Tyronn Lue about the Ben Simmons shifts in 1st and 3rd quarters… and yeah, he smiled like Draymond Green during a national anthem 'It was good for us… it worked tonight. So we'll see going forward what happens' [image or embed] — Law Murray 📘 (@ April 21, 2025 at 11:34 PM After not being in the same zip code in Game 1, Leonard and Simmons hooked up on Simmons' third offensive possession of Game 2 for a pick-and-roll. Simmons rolled hard and finished. It was his only bucket of the game, but one that Simmons felt good about. 'It's going to be there, I think, most of the series,' Simmons told The Athletic. 'Just got to be in the right position. Give my teammates the opportunity to find me.' Sometimes the little things in this series are about what happens after a big moment, and how a player may respond. That was certainly the case for Powell in Game 2. Midway through the third quarter, Powell created space between himself and Murray, enough to draw a reaction from the Ball Arena crowd. By the time Powell finished his Iverson cut and squared up, Murray was back in the picture to greet him with a foul, punctuated by picking Powell up off the ground. The agitated Powell reacted strongly, and Braun and Dunn rushed in to exchange pleasantries. Powell, Braun, and Dunn all got technical fouls, and Murray got to cut a point into the Clippers' lead. 'No, that don't matter,' Powell said of the incident two days later, declining to give it any air. 'Next question.' By the end of that third quarter, Powell had missed 15 of 22 shots in the series. But Powell, a 2019 champion with Leonard on the Toronto Raptors, tapped in to make multiple winning plays. He cut into the paint to receive a Leonard pass out of a double team for a go-ahead floater. Another floater put the Clippers up by four a minute later. With Denver leading 97-96 with just over three minutes left to play, Powell beat Murray to get to the paint, then found Zubac for a bucket through a Gordon foul; that's a play that it has taken Powell and Zubac years to figure out, with frustrating turnovers littered along the path to reaching a zenith. 'It's been a back-and-forth dialogue, and making sure we get those plays completed,' Powell said. 'We were able to do that for an and-one late in the game. But we've been talking about that play all year long, because of how much I get into the paint and put pressure on the rim.' No play for Powell was bigger than the 3-pointer he made that gave the Clippers the lead for good with 90 seconds left to play in Game 2. Denver had just gotten the defensive rebound off a rare Leonard miss, only for Porter to mishandle the ball and turn it over in the backcourt. Advertisement But what many will forget is that Harden had a similar backcourt turnover after a Clippers' stop earlier in the fourth quarter. Dunn stole a Jokić pass intended for a cutting Gordon, and Harden tried to get the ball down the floor to Leonard, who would have had a two-on-one fast break. But Jokić got his hands up, and then found Porter for a game-tying and timeout-inducing 3-pointer. 'I tried to advance it,' Harden said. 'It was the right play. I've just got to complete the pass, and it's a layup or a 3. I've still got to be better than that in that sense.' Poise will go a long way towards performance. This series now shifts to Inglewood, and the maiden voyage of Intuit Dome in the postseason. As much as that should theoretically energize the Clippers, it should also cause the Nuggets to focus more on their details as well. The clash of the little things will continue, with both teams having more than enough evidence to realize that everything that happens throughout the game could matter at the end. Sign up to get The Bounce, the essential NBA newsletter from Zach Harper and The Athletic staff, delivered free to your inbox. (Photo of Kawhi Leonard and Aaron Gordon: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
