INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Denver Nuggets interim coach David Adelman was dismayed and angered by the amount of contact the officials allowed while the Los Angeles Clippers defended Nikola Jokic in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series on Thursday night.
The Clippers’ physical defense is a prime reason Denver is headed home to play yet another Game 7.
Adelman and Jokic are confident the Nuggets will fight back with their season back on the brink.
Adelman decried the lenient officiating standards in Denver’s 111-105 loss in Game 6. Jokic shot only two free throws, and the Nuggets went to the line only nine times compared to the Clippers’ 15 free throws while both teams appeared to be allowed to play physically.
“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.”
The group of “smalls” guarding the 6-foot-11 Jokic included 6-foot-8 Nicolas Batum, whose second-half effort played a major role in turning Game 6 in the Clippers’ favor. Batum and Ivica Zubac teamed up for an effective effort against Jokic, who scored only five of his 25 points in the second half while going 2 for 9 from the field.
But even Adelman knew the officials didn’t decide another close game in a series between two teams that finished the regular season with the same record.
“This is what I expected, to be honest,” Adelman said. “This felt like a seven-game series. It’s an evenly matched series. There’s so many good players out there, guys that can have nights.”
Nobody had a night for the Nuggets in Game 6, and that’s why they’re headed to Game 7.
Closeout games have been mostly a nightmare for the Nuggets since winning the franchise’s only championship two seasons ago. They’ve lost four of their last five closeout opportunities, including two games in last year’s second-round series with Minnesota.
The Nuggets had a 3-2 lead in that series, only to get thrashed by 45 points in Game 6 before losing Game 7 in their home arena — the same place they’ll play the Clippers on Saturday.
Denver has lost four of its past five potential closeout games, beating only the Lakers in the first round last season — but only after losing Game 4 with a 3-0 series lead.
“It’s going to be a different team,” said Jamal Murray, who had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in Game 6. “It’s going to be a different type of series. 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.”
Jokic doesn’t see the Nuggets’ recent closeout failures as something rotten in his team. After all, Jokic and Murray led a team that closed out four opponents during that 2023 championship run.
“I’m going to approach it the same,” Jokic said. “For me, every game is really important. I want to win, so I’m going to play it as a regular game.”
The Nuggets are only hosting Game 7 because they won their final three games to hold on to the tiebreaker over the Clippers, who won eight consecutive games and 18 of 21 to close the regular season. Adelman only became Denver’s head coach for those final three games after the stunning firing of Michael Malone just 23 days ago, but the new coach already has a clear message for his team heading into the series finale.
“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.”
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