Winning the last three games of the regular-season under interim coach David Adelman, who took over for the fired Michael Malone, earned the Denver Nuggets the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
That home-court advantage paid off in Game 7.
The Nuggets defeated the Clippers 120-101 in the series finale Saturday, using an impressive shooting display to dispatch the Clippers in a series where four games were decided by six points or fewer, including two two-point margins.
The Nuggets advance to the second round and a matchup against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Game 1 is Monday in Oklahoma City (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
MORE: Clippers owner Steve Ballmer brings ‘The Wall’ fan section to Denver for Game 7
OPINION: Gregg Popovich as good an American as he was NBA coach
ANALYSIS: Gregg Popovich’s impact on the Spurs and NBA was immense. Six ways he left his footprint.
The home team had won 112 of 151 Game 7s headed into Saturday’s finale. However, there has been a Game 7 road winner in the past eight NBA playoffs, including two Game 7 road winners in 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
With the home fans and the altitude on the Nuggets’ side, Denver pulled away from the Clippers in the third quarter, going on a 24-4 run to take an 82-54 lead on an Aaron Gordon dunk. The Nuggets outscored the Clippers 72-40 in the second and third quarters.
Nuggets MVP finalist Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Christian Braun scored 21 points and Gordon added 22. Russell Westbrook and Jamal Murray contributed 16 points apiece, and Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points.
The Clippers just didn’t have it. Through three quarters, Kawhi Leonard and Derrick Jones Jr. were the only Clippers who had scored at least 10 points, and James Harden finished with seven points on 2-for-8 shooting.
Poor shooting (47.6%), turnovers and bad transition defense contributed to the Clippers’ defeat.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clippers vs. Nuggets: Denver routs LA 120-101, earns date with Thunder
