LOS ANGELES — James Harden and Kawhi Leonard led the Los Angeles Clippers to a 111-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 6.
With the series now tied at 3, the first round series will conclude in Denver with the Oklahoma City Thunder awaiting the winner.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue referenced a “temperature check” before the game during pregame media availability, considering the win-or-go-home situation.
Harden finished the night with 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 47 minutes of play.
It was a bounce-back performance for the 16-year veteran from his recent outings, having scored just 26 points combined in Games 4 and 5.
Lue called his players to take the temperature of his team during an off day following a loss in each of the two games in the series.
“He usually does that,” Leonard said about Lue’s phone calls. “Whether it’s winning streaks or losing streaks, just to see how we feel about the lineup and how we should be playing with the matchups. … He’s pretty good at that.”
Leonard produced a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
The Clippers built some early momentum in the first quarter, but the Nuggets finished the opening period with a 28-25 lead. L.A. managed to keep the game close in the second quarter before pulling away coming out of the locker room at halftime.
The Clippers lead the Nuggets 80-66 with 3:56 left in the third quarter, one of their largest leads of the night after Norman Powell drove in a layup off an assist from Nicolas Batum.
Powell provided a spark with 11 of his 24 points in the third.
While Nuggets cut into the Clippers’ lead in the fourth quarter, Powell hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 110-101 with 1:40 left and put the game out of reach for the Nuggets.
The Clippers outscored the Nuggets 33-29 in the second quarter to take a 58-57 lead at halftime.
MVP finalist Nikola Jokic fell short of a triple-double on Thursday, finishing with 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray followed up his 43-point performance in Game 5 with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
“We still had some mistakes tonight but I think our energy defensively and even offensively our aggressiveness was different,” Harden said. “It starts with me. We’ll watch some film and find something I can get better at and do it for one more game.”
Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Clippers force Game 7 with win
Nuggets ready to match physicality
Nikola Jokic was seen gesturing toward the officials for the lack of fouls not called on the Clippers while he had the ball multiple times throughout the game.
While the Nuggets star may have spent time expressing himself during the game, Nuggets coach David Adelman spoke after the game and made it clear that his team is ready to match the play style in Game 7.
“Nikola gets fouled a lot,” Adelman said. “I’m not sure what was happening tonight, but for him to shoot two free throws with the amount of contact that was going on out there was absolutely crazy.
“They put smalls on him. Those smalls were allowed to do whatever they want, so I’m really excited for Saturday that we’re going to be able to do the same thing with their best players, because if that’s the physicality we’re allowed to play with, we’ll react to it, and we will go there in Game 7.”
Jokic went just 1 of 2 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over four times.
Clippers stay healthy
The Clippers have managed to finish out the first six games of the series healthy but recent history hasn’t worked in the team’s favor. The team had lost in the first round in each of the last two years.
Leonard has been limited in both of those years, playing in just two playoff games in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
“I’m enjoying every game. I’ve been on the sidelines the last couple of years in the playoffs,” Leonard said. “So I don’t take it for granted. I just try to cherish every moment and thank God that I’m able to play.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clippers-Nuggets takeaways: L.A. pushes the series to Game 7
