DENVER — The coach of the Clippers had by no means misplaced a Sport 7, and so his gamers knew they might lean on Tyronn Lue to shepherd them in a very powerful recreation of their 2024-25 marketing campaign.
However Lue was the primary to say that he’s the coach and doesn’t play, that his 4-0 mark within the seventh recreation of a playoff collection is as a result of “it takes really good players” to perform that robust feat and that he believed he had these actually good gamers in Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and the remainder of his crew to take care of the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in Sport 7 at Ball Enviornment.
The percentages, nonetheless, had been in opposition to the Clippers successful this deciding recreation on the highway and the Nuggets made certain they saved it of their favor with a 120-101 beatdown.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, proper, appears to be like on with guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, left, in the course of the second half of the workforce’s season-ending loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
(David Zalubowski / Related Press)
The house workforce had gained 74.2% of the time in Sport 7s, and by successful the best-of-seven collection 4-3 over the Clippers, the Nuggets left little doubt whereas blowing the sport open within the fourth quarter in constructing a 35-point lead.
“You hate to see them go out like this in a Game 7,” Lue mentioned. “So, that’s very disappointing.”
When the Nuggets opened a 65-50 lead on an Aaron Gordon dunk, forcing a timeout, the followers started to chant, “Beat L.A.”
They usually did in a giant method, breaking the Clippers’ spirit within the third quarter with a 35-19 outburst, the begin to sending the Clippers house for the summer time to ponder what might need been and sending the Nuggets for the second spherical in opposition to Oklahoma Metropolis.
“I think we could have given a better effort, for sure,” mentioned Leonard, who had 22 factors. “At the time, I don’t think this team is 30-points better than us, as you seen throughout the first six games of this series. But got to give them credit. They came out and fought, ran hard in transition, got easy points and they made shots.”
Clippers guard James Harden appears to be like to go the ball to ahead Derrick Jones Jr. between Nuggets guards Jamal Murray, left, and Christian Braun (0) throughout Sport 7.
(David Zalubowski / Related Press)
Harden was a disappointment once more, his seven factors on two-for-eight taking pictures and 13 assists one other low-point for him on this collection.
Harden didn’t speak after the sport, similar to he didn’t speak after losses in Sport 4 and 5.
“They played harder,” mentioned Ivica Zubac, who had a double-double with 10 factors and 14 rebounds. “They beat us in every aspect of the game. That was the difference.”
Nikola Jokic wasn’t as sharp as he has been this collection, however he completed with 16 factors on six-for-14 taking pictures, eight rebounds, eight assists and 5 fouls that restricted his time on the courtroom.
Gordon labored over the Clippers for 22 factors, Jamal Murray had 16, and Clippers nemesis Russell Westbrook relished all of his 16 factors in opposition to his former teammates.
Lue made a change to his lineup, inserting Derrick Jones Jr. as a starter rather than Kris Dunn after which beginning Nicolas Batum within the third quarter over Jones, which was an indication to his workforce that he was prepared to do what’s needed in a Sport 7.
“In a Game 7, there are no tactics,” Batum mentioned. “It’s who wants it more. They clearly wanted it more than us.”
Protection is the place it was going to start out for the Clippers and it’s what allowed them to be in management on the outset of the sport.
They swarmed Jokic within the first, making it so robust that he missed his first 5 photographs within the quarter and scored simply two factors.
They stifled Murray within the first 12 minutes, making it so troublesome for him that he missed his first 4 photographs and had only one level.
They put a grip on the Nuggets within the first quarter, holding them to 38.1% taking pictures from the sphere and 25% from three-point vary and 21 factors.
However all that momentum the Clippers had within the first shifted within the second quarter.
They had been unable to carry the Nuggets for these 12 minutes, giving up 37 factors, permitting them to make 50% of their photographs and 50% (4 for eight) from three-point vary.
It went downhill from there for the Clippers.
They went 50-32 in the course of the common season, the identical document because the Nuggets. They had been the fifth-seeded workforce within the Western Convention.
However in the long run, none of that mattered. The Clippers’ season is over.
“I would say this group deserves a better finish, I would say,” mentioned Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had 12 factors off the bench. “Not a way to finish it. But we got to look ourselves in the mirror. That’s it.”
