LAS VEGAS — The Clippers’ NBA Summer League contest Friday against the Houston Rockets offered a chance for Kobe Brown to show he’s capable of being a rotational player for the Clippers this season.
But misfortune struck in the third quarter when Brown got tangled with a Rockets defender who fell on his right ankle. Brown sat on the Clippers’ bench for a few minutes before he limped to their locker room.
Brown didn’t return in the Clippers’ 95-92 win at Cox Pavilion on Friday night after sustaining what the team described as a right ankle contusion.
Brown is entering his third season with the Clippers and the team is eager for the 2023 30th overall draft pick to make an impact. He’ll make $2.65 million this season and will have a qualifying offer for next season at $4.7 million.
“He’s just got to continue to do what he did tonight,” said Clippers assistant coach Jerry Castleberry, the team’s Summer League coach. “Play great defense. Make the right reads. We’ve been talking about it all training camp. Get in the paint, draw two, make the right reads and if they put a small on him, he showed his ability to be able to score against a mismatch tonight and doing it the right way — quickly, getting downhill, not dancing, just getting straight to the point.
Brown scored 10 points in the first quarter, going four for five from the field, making both of his three-point attempts. On one of those threes, he ran the length of the court and took a pass for a lob dunk.
Brown finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes.
“Ankle is good,” Castleberry said. “Ankle is fine. Just precautionary. He’ll be OK.”
The Clippers waived Jordan Miller before summer league started, but they still had a roster spot so he was added to the team.
He did not disappoint Friday, producing 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Miller has been given an opportunity to show the Clippers — and any other team — how the Summer League is useful for him.
“With this team it takes a lot of humility. Not thinking less of yourself but also thinking less of yourself,” Miller said. “Just finding a way to maximize whatever role it is. It’s not just for me, but it’s for all the guys. We got guys that can score. The only way we’re going to get on the floor is defending and making open threes. That’s just the reality of it. … But for the most part, just working game reps. Like, you’re not going to get a lot of ball-screens. You’re not going to get a lot of touches. So you just got to work on your off-ball shooting, movement shooting and being able to not mess up defensively.”
Niederhauser blocked four shots and had 10 rebounds. He used his seven-foot frame as a deterrent and displayed why the Clippers drafted him out of Penn State.
“He did everything he was supposed to do,” Castleberry said. “He was great with rim-protection, changing shots and I just thought he was good.”
The Clippers have traded guard Norman Powell to the Miami Heat and have acquired forward John Collins from the Utah Jazz in a three-team, multi-player deal that also includes a draft pick, according to people with knowledge of the stituation not authorized to speak on the matter.
The Clippers will send a 2027 second-round pick to the Jazz and the Heat will send Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love to the Jazz as part of the deal.
In Collins, the Clippers get some much-needed size for the frontcourt and youth.
Though Collins played just 40 games last season for the Jazz, including 31 starts, he averaged 19.0 points and 8.2 rebounds.
A 6-9, 226-pound power forward, Collins improved his outside shooting, making a career-best 39.9 percent of his three-pointers last season despite dealing with back and ankle injuries.
Over the course of his eight-year career, Collins has averaged 16.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and shot 54.6 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from three-point range and 79.2 percent from the free-throw line, including a career-best 84.8 percent last season.
Collins opted into his player option that pays him $26.5 million next season, his last year of that deal.
Powell was one of the Clippers top performers last season, averaging a career-high 21.8 points per game, second-best on the team. He was in the final year of a contract that was to pay him $20.4 million next season and was seeking an extension.
The Clippers got the backup center they have yearned for when Brook Lopez agreed to a two-year, $18-million deal, according to people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Lopez, who spent the last seven seasons with Milwaukee, averaged 13 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot 37.3% from three-point range.
Lopez will be the backup to starting center Ivica Zubac, and he gives the Clippers depth and experience at the position.
The 7-1 Lopez still is a good rim-protector, averaging 1.9 blocks per game last season. Lopez has won an NBA championship with the Bucks.
Nicolas Batum plans on re-signing with the Clippers on a two-year contract for $11.5 million with a team option for the second season, according to people with knowledge of negotiations not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Batum, 36, had declined his option of $4.9 million with the Clippers for next season that made him an unrestricted free agent, but he always had intention of returning to the organization that he says saved his career.
Viewed as one of the Clippers’ top role players and veteran presence in the locker room, Batum averaged 4.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists last season. He shot 43.7% from the field, 43.3% from three-point range and played in 78 regular-season games.
After the Clippers were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs in May, Batum was asked if he wanted to return to the team.
Clippers executives were serious when they said they had not soured on James Harden’s future with the franchise after an underwhelming postseason performance.
Harden declined his player option for $36 million with the Clippers on Sunday and intends to sign a two-year deal with the team for $81.5 million, league sources with knowledge of the deal not authorized to discuss it publicly said. The second year is a player option and is partially guaranteed.
The deal gave Harden a raise and the Clippers some salary flexibility going forward.
“He’s our No. 1 priority,” Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, told the media after the first round of the draft Wednesday night. “We’re super hopeful that James is here and he’s here for a long time. He has a player-option, so he can opt-in … or he can opt-out and hopefully we can do a deal that makes sense for both sides. But James, as you guys know, was phenomenal and we hope to continue to see his play.”
Though the Clippers drafted a center in the first round with the 30th pick, getting Yanic Konan Niederhauser of Penn State, Frank said his team “probably will have at least three centers.”
The Clippers can use their non-taxpayer mid-level exception that’s projected to be about $14.1 million on a player or two, and perhaps even find a center.
Harden played in 79 games this past season, played the fifth-most total minutes in the NBA (2,789), was fifth in the league in assists (8.7), averaged 22.8 points per game and was the only player with 1,500 points, 500 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocks.
Harden, however, struggled during the postseason, averaging 18.7 points per game in the series the Clippers lost to the Nuggets. He scored just 33 points combined in Games 4, 5 and 7 losses, including seven points in Game 7.
Clippers guard James Harden looks to shoot during the team’s win over San Antonio Spurs on April 8 at Intuit Dome.
(Carrie Giordano / Associated Press)
Harden turns 36 in August and was not made available to speak with media during traditional exit interviews every team typically hosts to close out a season.
“When it was James this year with no Kawhi, with Norm [Powell] and [Ivica] Zubac and the rest of the group, we really asked James to do a lot,” Frank said shortly after the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs.
“And at his age to deliver what he did…[He played in] 79 games, and he does that time and time and time again. We have a deep appreciation for that sort of availability and to be able to deliver and do what he did…We have a great level of appreciation for what James did this year.”
The Lakers and Clippers put in the work during the NBA’s two-day draft that was completed Thursday night and now they will turn their attention to shaping their rosters.
The first key dates are Sunday, when LeBron James and Dorian Finney-Smith have to inform the Lakers and when James Harden has to inform the Clippers of their decisions to opt in or out of their contracts, and Monday, when the NBA free-agency period begins.
James has a player option for $52.6 million and Finney-Smith has one for $15.3 million.
“At that point, we’ll know the tools we have to go out into free agency and fill out the roster with the draft ending tonight,” Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, told Spectrum SportsNet after the second round of the draft Thursday. “The work for that has already begun, but the focus now will turn from draft focus to free agency and we won’t rest until we get it right.”
Harden, who has a player option of $36.3 million, also has the same day to let the Clippers know his desires.
“He’s our No. 1 priority,” Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, told the media after the first round of the draft Wednesday night. “We’re super hopeful that James is here and he’s here for a long time. He has a player-option, so he can opt-in … or he can opt-out and hopefully we can do a deal that makes sense for both sides. But James, as you guys know, was phenomenal and we hope to continue to see his play.”
The Lakers were able to add an athletic wing player when they acquired Adou Thiero in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who picked him with the 36th pick of the second round.
The most pressing need for the Lakers remains a center, and they’ll have to look into free agency or via trade to acquire one.
The top big men are Indiana’s Myles Turner, Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez and Atlanta’s Clint Capela.
Turner, who made $19.9 million last season, is probably headed back to the Pacers and will do so at a price the Lakers can’t offer him. The Lakers have the taxpayer mid-level exception of about $5.65 million to spend.
“As I said at the end of the year, we know one of the things we have to address is the center position and that’s clearly going to be one of our focuses as we begin the free-agency period,” Pelinka said on the Lakers’ TV show. “And that’s right around the corner.
“So, we’re looking forward to just putting in the hard work and making sure we take care of all the needs on the roster to give [Lakers coach] JJ [Redick] the tools he needs for this team to be great next season.”
Though the Clippers drafted a center in the first round with the 30th pick, getting Yanic Konan Niederhausher of Penn State, Frank said his team “probably will have at least three centers.”
The Clippers can use their non-taxpayer mid-level exception that’s projected to be about $14.1 million on a player or two, and perhaps even find a center.
They will also perform due diligence by calling other teams to see about trade opportunities.
“You’re always in constant contact with all the teams,” Frank said. “You have a good sense of the things that you can be involved with and other things that you’re not.”
Free agency begins Monday at 3 p.m. PDT, but players can’t sign contracts until July 6.
Also, Clippers wing Norman Powell is eligible for a contract extension. He has one year left on his deal that pays him $20.4 million next season.
“At the appropriate time, we’ll sit with Norm and his representatives to talk about what kind of an extension and what it would look like and how it would fit in the bigger picture,” Frank said.
In Konan Niederhauser, the Clippers got a 7-foot center and that was one of the positions they needed help to back up starter Ivica Zubac.
“We always go into the draft board looking for the best available player, and it also coincides this time with a need,” said Lawrence Frank, the Clippers president of basketball operations. “We’ve kind of looked over the years for a center that complements Zu, that does something different than Zu does. Sometimes it’s resulted with guys being undersized where we haven’t been able to maximize it. Yanic has legit positional size and I think the rim-rolling threat, combined with what Zu’s play is, I think in due time will be really, really good.”
As expected, Duke’s talented Cooper Flagg was taken first overall by the Dallas Mavericks. Rutgers’ Dylan Harper, the son of former NBA star and former Laker Ron Harper, was taken second by the San Antonio Spurs.
The rest of the lottery started to take shape with a change, when Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe was taken third by the 76ers.
Duke’s Kon Knueppel went fourth to Charlotte; Rutgers’ Ace Bailey went fifth to the Jazz; Texas’ Tre Johnson went sixth to the Wizards; Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears went seventh to the Pelicans; BYU’s Egor Demin went eighth to the Nets; South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles went ninth to the Raptors; Duke’s Khaman Maluach went 10th to the Rockets (but he was traded to the Suns); Washington State’s Cedric Coward was taken 11th by the Trail Blazers (he was traded to the Grizzlies; France’s Noa Esse went 12th to the Bulls, Maryland’s Derik Queen went 13th to the Hawks (he was traded to the Pelicans); and Arizona’s Carter Bryant was taken 14th by the Spurs.
Flagg was at the top of his draft class, a player the Mavericks really needed to take after trading fan favorite Luka Doncic to the Lakers last season, a trade that upset many of Dallas’ fans.
But they now get Flagg, who averaged 19.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his only season with the Blue Devils.
Konan Niederhauser, 22, who grew up in Switzerland, has been dealing with an ankle injury the Clippers don’t think will be a problem.
He averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds last season at Penn State.
“I think the reason we decided with Yanic is that he’s got great positional size,” Frank said. “He also has some definite traits in the short term that will carry over, like his ability to run the floor, his ability to play behind the defense in the dunker spot, his ability to play screen-and-roll and be a vertical threat. Those are things that will carry over pretty much on day one.”
The Clippers are a veteran-laden team led by Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, and because of that, Coach Tyronn Lue said any young player they take should follow their lead.
“I think the biggest thing is, coming into the draft, if you’re not a Cooper Flagg, a one, two or three pick, you got to find your way, find your niche to get on the floor,” Lue told a group of fans at the team’s draft watch party at Intuit Dome on Wednesday. “Playing without the basketball, because when you come to this team, or any other team, with Kawhi Leonards, James Hardens on the floor, you’re not going to [get a lot of time]. You have to learn how to play the game and make your teammates better and things like that. And then the most important thing is your attitude.”
When the NBA draft continues Thursday with the second round, the Clippers will pick 51st.
The Lakers didn’t have a first-round pick, but they have a second-round pick at No. 55.
For the Clippers, they have a few things to get worked out.
Harden, who averaged 22.8 points per game, 8.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds and was third-team All-NBA, has a player option for $36.3 million and he has to inform the Clippers of his decision by Sunday.
The consensus around the NBA is that Harden will opt out and seek a two-year extension from the Clippers.
Nicolas Batum has a player option for next season that pays him $4.9 million and he has to let the team know by Sunday of his decision. Norman Powell has one more year on his deal that pays him $20.4 million next season and he also is looking for an extension.
The most pressing need the Lakers have is finding a rim-running, shot-blocking young center to put alongside Luka Doncic for the present and future.
But the Lakers don’t have a first-round pick to use in Wednesday night’s NBA draft, and when they do make their choice in the second round at No. 55 on Thursday night in the two-day event, that’s probably not where they are going to find that sort of talent.
So, the Lakers will look for the proverbial “best player available” and look to develop him and most likely have him play for the South Bay Lakers, their G League team.
The big news for the Lakers will be the contract status of Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Dorian Finney-Smith.
The Clippers, on the other hand, have the last pick in the first round of the draft, at No. 30. They also have the 51st overall pick in the second round.
And they too will be looking for the best player available with those selections.
With the unlikelihood of the draft providing them a rotation player, the Lakers will continue to build their team in other ways, from free agency to trades.
James, 40, has a player option for next season at $52.6 million and he has to let the Lakers know of his decision by June 29. He can opt-in to his deal with an extension or opt-out and sign a new contract.
James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists and shot 51.3% from the field per game last season, and he was named to the All-NBA second team.
Doncic can sign an extension with the Lakers starting on Aug. 2. He will earn $45.9 million next season and $48.9 million for the 2026-27 season if he exercises his option.
He can sign a four-year extension for $229 million, with the $51-million first-year of that deal replacing his player option from 2026-27. Or Doncic could sign a three-year extension for $165 million, and that would include a player option for the third season.
Reaves is eligible to sign an extension off his $13.9-million salary for next season starting July 6. Reaves can sign a four-year deal for $89.2 million.
Finney-Smith has a player option that will pay him $15.3 million, and he too is looking for an extension.
Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations for the Clippers, talked in May about the team’s needs in the draft.
Frank said the Clippers could use some frontcourt help, a playmaker and some shooting.
Several NBA mock drafts have the Clippers taking Noah Penda at No. 30. He’s a 6-foot-8 forward from France. Penda, 20, played last season at Le Mans, where he averaged 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds.
“In the draft, typically you’re always going for the best available, especially if it’s a younger player,” Frank told the media in May after the team had been eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets. “Because by the time that player hits his prime, our team will be completely different. … So, you are drafting best available, but we have certain characteristics that we really prioritize.
“Positional size is important to us. Basketball IQ and processing is important to us. The ability to pass, dribble and shoot is important to us. And then the DNA, the makeup, the toughness, the competitiveness, examples of where they are really shown resiliency, grit. So, there’s a lot of things into it, but those typically are kind of in general of how we look at it.”
Clippers veterans James Harden, Nicolas Batum and Norman Powell also have contract decisions to make.
Harden has a player option for $36.3 million and he has to inform the Clippers of his decision by June 29. The consensus around the NBA is that Harden will opt out and seek a two-year extension from the Clippers.
Harden, 35, who averaged 22.8 points, 8.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds, made the All-Star team and was All-NBA third team.
Batum, a favorite of his teammates and Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, has a player option for next season that pays him $4.9 million and he has to let the team know by June 29 of his decision.
Powell, 32, has one more year on his deal that pays him $20.4 million next season. Powell, who averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game, also is likely looking for an extension.
Six years later, the deal for George is considered tragically lopsided, the Clippers fleeced and forced to watch assets they surrendered lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to within three wins of an NBA championship.
The trade wouldn’t be looked upon harshly had the Clippers won a championship in the five seasons that George and Leonard played together. But the deepest the team advanced was the Western Conference finals in 2021.
George left as a free agent last offseason, signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. Leonard has played in only 266 of 472 games with the Clippers because of injuries. The Clippers paid George $195.9 million and have paid Leonard $194.6 million — with Leonard under contract for another two years and $100.3 million.
Meanwhile, one of the two players shipped to the Thunder along with five first-round draft picks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has blossomed into the NBA‘s most valuable player. And the 2022 draft pick acquired from the Clippers was used to select Jalen Williams, a rising star who averaged 21.6 points a game this season.
Both are bargains. Gilgeous-Alexander — known as SGA — was paid just $13.5 million his first three seasons with the Thunder before signing a five-year, $173-million contract that will take him through the 2026-27 season. Williams has made $13.7 million in three seasons and will be paid $6.6 million next season, the last of his rookie contract.
And it’s a deal that just keeps giving — to the Thunder, who as a result of the trade get the Nos. 15 and 24 picks in this year’s draft and the Clippers’ first-round pick in 2026.
Asked to evaluate the deal moments after the Clippers defeated the Thunder in January 2024, George grudgingly acknowledged that the pendulum had swung toward Oklahoma City.
“I just think both sides won,” he said. “I did think it was quite a lot that the Clippers were willing to give up. … When that trade first happened, we knew Shai was going to be really, really good, but he’s special.”
George sighed and continued: “I guess in a way, Oklahoma won that trade with the picks and future MVP, but both sides won.”
The fact is, the Clippers couldn’t say no to the deal. Why? Because Leonard was a free agent coming off an NBA title with Toronto in which he was Finals MVP, and he was weighing offers from the Lakers and Raptors as well as the Clippers.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer needed to be convinced that giving up the slew of draft picks was a smart move. Leonard signing with the Lakers was an unthinkable outcome to Clippers coach Doc Rivers, and he jokingly told Ballmer the Clippers would need to relocate to Seattle if that happened.
“Steve Ballmer was nervous about the picks,” Rivers told The Times in 2019. “I said, ‘Steve, you keep saying six picks for Paul George is insane, but you’re saying it wrong. It’s not six for Paul; it’s six for Paul and Kawhi. So three for each. I would do that.’ You have to look at it in those terms.”
Knowing the Clippers desperately needed to consummate the deal, Thunder general manager Sam Presti demanded SGA — who was coming off an impressive rookie campaign — respected forward Danilo Gallinari and the draft picks.
Unforeseen was that SGA would rapidly rise from promising youngster to foundational piece to perhaps the best player in the NBA. He led the league in scoring this season with 32.7 points a game. He put up 34 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the Finals on Sunday.
In Game 1, a stunning Pacers comeback was helped by two late missed shots by SGA. Still, he scored 38 points, and his 72 in his first two NBA Finals games is a league record.
“I’m being myself,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. “I don’t think I tried to reinvent the wheel or step up to the plate with a different mindset. Just try to attack the game the right way. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that so far.”
Through 18 playoff games, SGA is averaging 30.4 points, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Only Michael Jordan and LeBron James have recorded those numbers during a playoff run of 16 or more games.
None of this is a complete surprise. SGA provided the Clippers with opportunities to feel seller’s remorse soon after the trade. On Dec. 22, 2019, he scored 32 points with five assists and two steals in a 118–112 Thunder victory. Two years later almost to the day, he made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Thunder a 104–103 win.
Next is closing out the Finals and delivering a title to Oklahoma City — something that has proven elusive for the Clippers, the oldest franchise in North American professional sports to have never played in a championship game.
“This is where we are, you can’t go back in the past,” SGA said. “You can only make the future better. That’s what I’m focused on.”
Attention Dylan Hernández! Cannot agree. No time to panic, just yet. Leave Shohei Ohtani alone in his DH status. Dodgers are correct in letting him ease into his pitching until after the All-Star break. We still have plenty of decent arms to carry the load until then.
Aside from the first three quarters of an NBA game, the most meaningless stats in sports are baseball standings from April to July!
Marty Zweben Palos Verdes Estates
The Dodgers continue to find ways to successfully fill holes in pitching, hitting and fielding. The latest arrival, Hyeseong Kim, has demonstrated potential with the bat and in the field. Perhaps, Dave Roberts may want to think about moving him to third base.
Mark Mallinger Malibu
Entering Friday’s game against Arizona, the two players who primarily bat at or near the bottom of the Dodgers’ lineup (and ahead of Shohei Ohtani starting from his second at bat) were hitting .188 and .135. Although not even a quarter of the season has been played, strong consideration should be given by the Dodgers to making changes at the bottom of the lineup, and/or to moving Ohtani to second or third in the order, so that his batting talents can be maximized.
President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank views Harden as having done a “great job leading the way” while Kawhi Leonard sat out the first 34 games because of right-knee injury management and liked how the team responded to the 16-year veteran.
Frank spoke with reporters at a season-ending news conference Monday about how Harden played in 79 games this season, played the fifth-most total minutes in the NBA (2,789), was fifth in the league in assists (8.7), averaged 22.8 points per game and was the only player this season with 1,500 points, 500 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocks.
Frank did not mention how Harden was underwhelming in the postseason, averaging just 18.7 points per game in the series the Clippers lost to the Nuggets and how he scored just 33 points combined in Games 4, 5 and 7 losses, including seven points in Game 7.
“When it was James this year with no Kawhi, with Norm [Powell] and [Ivica] Zubac and the rest of the group, we really asked James to do a lot,” Frank said via Zoom because he was away with his family at a New York hospital because of a family medical issue.
“And at his age to deliver what he did…[He played in] 79 games, and he does that time and time and time again. We have a deep appreciation for that sort of availability and to be able to deliver and do what he did…We have a great level of appreciation for what James did this year.”
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard dunks against the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 on May 1.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Harden has a player option for next season that pays him $36 million, and he has to let the Clippers know his decision by June 29. He can decide to opt-in, which means he can’t get an extension, or he can opt-out and work with the Clippers on an extension.
Frank said Harden, who will be 36 in August, is the team’s “first priority.”
“Now, because James has a player option, it would be irresponsible for me not to have contingency plans with it,” Frank said. “But I’m going in with the intent that if he doesn’t pick up his option, that we’re going to be able to reach an agreement that works well for James and works well for the Clippers.”
Frank was happy that Leonard was healthy following the season and that his best player has two years left on his deal for $100 million.
Powell, 31, has one year left on his contract at $20.4 million and he also will be looking for an extension. Zubac begins his three-year extension for $58.6 million next season, Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn and Bogdan Bogdanovic are all under contract and are top role players. Nicolas Batum has a player option for $4.9 million, but is expected to return.
The Clippers will look to improve their team in the draft — they have a first-round pick (29th overall) and a second-round selection. They can use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $14.1 million per season and they have trade exceptions of $6.5 million, $4.2 million and $2.1 million.
“Make no mistake, we want to contend in the present,” Frank said.
“We also will plan for the future and we’ll take the necessary steps to implement it.”
Frank said what happened in Game 7 in which the Clippers trailed by 35 points was “extremely embarrassing and also uncharacteristic” for this team. But he offered some perspective on the entire season.
The Clippers finished the season with a 50-32 record, won 18 of their last 21 regular-season games and were the fifth seed in the West.
“So, I don’t want to diminish the fact that we lost in a seven-game series,” Frank said, “and also not share the fact that [I’m] very prideful about the inspired play we had for much of the year.”
Denver Nuggets defeat LA Clippers in the deciding game to set up a second-round matchup with top seed Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Denver Nuggets dominated the Los Angeles Clippers 120-101 in their do-or-die Game 7 of their NBA playoff series to set up a second-round clash with Western Conference top-seed Oklahoma City.
Aaron Gordon scored 22 points, Christian Braun added 21 and NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, whose balanced attack and stout defence were too much for the Clippers on Saturday.
The Clippers, who roared into the playoffs winning 18 of their last 21 regular-season games, had fended off elimination with a convincing Game 6 victory on Thursday.
But any momentum they had evaporated amid another dismal performance from James Harden.
Harden scored just seven points, connecting on two of his eight shot attempts.
Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points to lead the Clippers, who emerged from a tight first quarter with a 26-21 lead.
It briefly looked like it would be another close game between teams that finished the regular season with identical 50-32 records.
But the Nuggets put up 37 points in the second quarter to seize control and continued to pile it on in the third, when a 17-0 Nuggets run pushed the lead to 75-50.
The Nuggets led 93 – 66 going into the fourth quarter, and even with Jokic sitting down after he was whistled for his third, fourth, and fifth fouls late in the third period, the Clippers could make no meaningful inroads.
The Nuggets led by as many as 35 points. They out-scored the Clippers 54-42 in the paint and, with a 46-36 advantage in rebounds, grabbed 22 second-chance points to the Clippers’ 10.
“Everybody came to play,” said Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who scored 16 points. “Everybody was ready, the home crowd was into it, and we were able to get the job done.”
Russell Westbrook rubbed it in against his former team, coming off the bench to score 16 points with five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
He underscored his message midway through the fourth quarter, coming up with a steal, racing for a dunk, and then hanging on the rim to purposely draw a technical foul and using the moment to rile up the crowd even more.
The Nuggets advanced despite a tumultuous finish to their regular season, with David Adelman taking over as interim head coach when Michael Malone was sacked with just three games left.
Denver will play Game 1 of their second-round playoff series against the Thunder, who won a league-best 68 games, on Monday.
The series will pit MVP finalists Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander against each other.
Russell Westbrook (#4) of the Denver Nuggets drives to the basket against Kawhi Leonard (#2) and Ivica Zubac (#40) of the LA Clippers during Game 7 of the Western Conference first round NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 3, 2025, in Denver, Colorado, US [Matthew Stockman/Getty Images via AFP]
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From Broderick Turner: Tyronn Lue made sure to call every player, a move the Clippers coach said was necessary to check the “temperature” of his team before its biggest game of the season.
Lue refused to text his players in a group message because he wanted to “hear their voices” and encourage them before playing in a win-or-go-home Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets.
His players responded and delivered in a 111-105 win at the Intuit Dome on Thursday night.
“Got a great temperature,” Lue said. “Took a lot of temperatures in the last 36 hours.”
Lue’s two stars are reticent, but James Harden and Kawhi Leonard spoke volumes with their play in forcing a Game 7 in Denver on Saturday night.
Harden had 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds. He played 46 minutes 35 seconds after being criticized for his subpar play in Games 4 and 5.
Harden said he was “tired a little bit” but didn’t see the criticism “at all.”
“Tonight the game plan was more for me to be in attack mode and making sure our spacing was right,” Harden said. “And as a result, you know, I’ll be aggressive.”
With 39 seconds left, fans silently filled the aisles and literally turned their back on their beloved Lakers, who historically dropped this series four games to one.
Historically, because it was the first time the Lakers lost a first-round series as a No. 3 or higher seed.
No, they never folded this dramatically.
“Disappointment,” LeBron James said. “Unfulfillment.”
No. 3 Lakers vs. No. 6 Minnesota Minnesota 117, at Lakers 95 (box score) at Lakers 94, Minnesota 85 (box score) at Minnesota 116, Lakers 104 (box score) at Minnesota 116, Lakers 113 (box score) Minnesota 103, at Lakers 96 (box score)
No. 4 Denver vs. No. 5 Clippers at Denver 112, Clippers 110 (OT) (box score) Clippers 105, at Denver 102 (box score) at Clippers 117, Denver 83 (box score) Denver 101, at Clippers 99 (box score) at Denver 131, Clippers 115 (box score) at Clippers 111, Denver 105 (box score) Saturday at Denver, 4:30 p.m., TNT
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 8 Memphis at Oklahoma City 131, Memphis 80 (box score) at Oklahoma City 118, Memphis 99 (box score) Oklahoma City 114, at Memphis 108 (box score) Oklahoma City 117, at Memphis 115 (box score)
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 7 Golden State Golden State 95, at Houston 85 (box score) at Houston 109, Golden State 94 (box score) at Golden State 104, Houston 93 (box score) at Golden State 109, Houston 106 (box score) at Houston 131, Golden State 116 (box score) Friday at Golden State, 6 p.m., ESPN Sunday at Houston, 5:30 p.m, TNT*
Eastern Conference No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 8 Miami at Cleveland 121, Miami 100 (box score) at Cleveland 121, Miami 112 (box score) Cleveland 124, at Miami 87 (box score) Cleveland 138, at Miami 83 (box score)
No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Orlando at Boston 103, Orlando 86 (box score) at Boston 109, Orlando 100 (box score) at Orlando 95, Boston 93 (box score) Boston 107, at Orlando 98 (box score) at Boston 120, Orlando 89 (box score)
No. 3 New York vs. No. 6 Detroit at New York 123, Detroit 112 (box score) Detroit 100, at New York 94 (box score) New York 118, at Detroit 116 (box score) New York 94, at Detroit 93 (box score) Detroit 106, at New York 103 (box score) New York 116, at Detroit 113 (box score)
No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Milwaukee at Indiana 117, Milwaukee 98 (box score) at Indiana 123, Milwaukee 115 (box score) at Milwaukee 117, Indiana 101 (box score) Indiana 129, at Milwaukee 103 (box score) at Indiana 119, Milwaukee 118 (OT) (box score)
* if necessary
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The celebration was simple. But the relief was immense.
In the bottom of the second inning Wednesday afternoon, on the last day of what had been a torturous opening month to the season,Max Muncy finally did the thing that had eluded him over an ice-cold start.
After 29 forgettable games and 90 infuriating at-bats, the 10th-year veteran finally hit his first home run.
With a lightning-quick swing on a down-and-away, 92-mph sinker from Miami Marlins right-hander Cal Quantrill, Muncy put a long-awaited end to his longest home run drought — and some much-needed life into his slumping start.
And though Muncy did little more than pound a closed fist into his open palm as he trotted around the bases for the first time, it allowed him to finally release the emotional tensions that had been building on the inside.
“Felt really good to have that happen,” Muncy told reporters from his clubhouse locker afterward, finally allowing himself to smile after a season-best game in which he also tripled and drew a walk.
“Just hope today is something to build on,” he added. “It’s been a rough month.”
Mike Trout is headed to the injured list as the Angels stumbled to their sixth straight loss.
Dillon Dingler capped a five-run eighth inning with a three-run homer, Javier Báez and Gleyber Torres each hit a solo shot in the third, and the Detroit Tigers rallied for a 10-4 win Thursday night.
Spencer Torkelson added a two-run homer — his ninth of the season — in a three-run ninth as Detroit improved to an American League-best 20-12. Tigers starter Casey Mize (5-1) gave up four runs and seven hits in seven innings, including Logan O’Hoppe’s solo homer in the second and Jorge Soler’s two-run shot in the third.
Trout did not play after being pulled from Wednesday’s game in Seattle because of left knee soreness. Trout, who had two operations to repair a torn meniscus in the knee last season, was injured when his foot hit first base on a third-inning groundout. Washington later said Trout has a bone bruise in the knee and would go on the 10-day IL. Washington said the injury “is not serious” but that Trout “needs some rest.”
From John Cherwa: Rodriguez, the Wood Memorial winner who was considered trainer Bob Baffert’s best horse in this year’s Kentucky Derby, scratched out of the race on Thursday after a sensitive foot bruise was discovered on the 3-year-old colt. He is expected to recover quickly and will be pointed to the Preakness States in two weeks.
“The horse is by all measures healthy and well,” Tom Ryan, who heads Rodriguez’s ownership group, said. “I guess we look on the bright side and know we can now target him for the Preakness.
“Of all the possible setbacks, this is the one we can live with.”
Ryan said the sensitivity was discovered a couple days ago and “out of an abundance of caution” the owners and Baffert thought a scratch was the right thing to do.
From Kevin Baxter: For the fourth time in as many years, the Kings’ season came to an end with a first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The coup de grace came Thursday in a 6-4 Oilers’ win at a raucous Rogers Place, which has become a house of horrors for the Kings.
Edmonton got goals from (take a deep breath) Adam Henrique, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Darnell Nurse, Trent Frederic and Connor Brown. For the Kings, Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, Jordan Spence and Anze Kopitar scored.
The Kings haven’t beaten the Oilers in the postseason since 1989, but this year’s loss may be the most painful of the nine playoff series they’ve dropped to Edmonton. The Kings tied franchise bests for wins (48) and points (105) this season and won a team-record 31 times at home during the regular season, finishing ahead of the Oilers in the Pacific Division standings for the first time in seven years.
They seemed primed for a long run in the postseason but once again, they couldn’t get by Edmonton.
“Having the season that we had, the group of guys in this locker room, to come up short again, it sucks. It’s frustrating,” said Kopitar, the team captain. “This one, this one hurts a little more.
“Having home ice and getting off to a good start with the first two games, winning the first two games. And then just not able to close games out. It cost us ”
Western Conference Pacific 3 Edmonton vs. Pacific 2 Kings at Kings 6, Edmonton 5 (summary) at Kings 6, Edmonton 2 (summary) at Edmonton 7, Kings 4 (summary) at Edmonton 4, Kings 3 (OT) (summary) Edmonton 3, at Kings 1 (summary) at Edmonton 6, Kings 4 (summary)
Wild-card 2 St. Louis vs. Central 1 Winnipeg at Winnipeg 5, St. Louis 3 (summary) Winnipeg 2, St. Louis 1 (summary) at St. Louis 7, Winnipeg 2 (summary) at St. Louis 5, Winnipeg 1 (summary) at Winnipeg 5, St. Louis 3 (summary) Friday at St. Louis, 5 p.m., TNT Sunday at Winnipeg, TBD*
Central 3 Colorado vs. Central 2 Dallas Colorado 5, at Dallas 1 (summary) at Dallas 4, Colorado 3 (summary) Dallas 2, at Colorado 1 (OT) (summary) at Colorado 4, Dallas 0 (summary) at Dallas 6, Colorado 2 (summary) Thursday at Colorado (summary) Saturday at Dallas, TBD*
Wild-card 1 Minnesota vs. Pacific 1 Vegas at Vegas 4, Minnesota 2 (summary) Minnesota 5, at Vegas 2 (summary) at Minnesota 5, Vegas 2 (summary) Vegas 4, at Minnesota 3 (OT) (summary) at Vegas 3, Minnesota 2 (OT) (summary) Vegas 3, at Minnesota 2 (summary)
Eastern Conference
Wild-card 2 Ottawa vs. Atlantic 1 Toronto at Toronto 6, Ottawa 2 (summary) at Toronto 3, Ottawa 2 (summary) Toronto 3, at Ottawa 2 (OT) (summary) at Ottawa 4, Toronto 3 (OT) (summary) Ottawa 4, at Toronto 0 (summary) Toronto 4, at Ottawa 2 (summary)
Atlantic 3 Florida vs. Atlantic 2 Tampa Bay Florida 6, at Tampa Bay 2 (summary) Florida 2, at Tampa Bay 0 (summary) Tampa Bay 5, at Florida 1 (summary) at Florida 4, Tampa Bay 2 (summary) Florida 6, at Tampa Bay 3 (summary)
Wild-card 2 Montreal vs. Metropolitan 1 Washington at Washington 3, Montreal 2 (OT) (summary) at Washington 3, Montreal 1 (summary) at Montreal 6, Washington 3 (summary) Washington 5, at Montreal 2 (summary) at Washington 4, Montreal 1 (summary)
Metropolitan 3 New Jersey vs. Metropolitan 2 Carolina at Carolina 4, New Jersey 1 (summary) at Carolina 3, New Jersey 1 (summary) at New Jersey 3, Carolina 2 (2 OT) (summary) Carolina 5, at New Jersey 2 (summary) at Carolina 5, New Jersey 4 (2 OT) (summary)
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1920 — Legendary slugger Babe Ruth hits his first HR for the New York Yankees.
1920 — Joe Oeschger of the Boston Braves and Leon Cadore of the Brooklyn Dodgers both pitch 26 innings in a 1-1 tie, the longest game in major league history.
1926 — Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige (19) debuts in the Negro Southern League.
1943 — Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, wins the Kentucky Derby by three lengths over Blue Swords.
1948 — Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Kentucky Derby by 3½ lengths over Coaltown. It’s Citation’s toughest race in winning the Triple Crown.
1951 — Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Mickey Mantle hits first career home run.
1954 — 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York wins aboard Determine, his only Derby success.
1955 — American golfer Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins the Peach Blossom LPGA Tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina, her final victory before her death the following year.
1959 — Floyd Patterson scores 11th round KO of Englishman Brian London in Indianapolis; his 4th World Heavyweight Boxing title defence.
1965 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 in Game 7 to capture the Stanley Cup.
1965 — 91st Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker wins aboard Lucky Debonair, the third of his 4 Derby victories.
1969 — Leonard Tose buys NFL Philadelphia Eagles for a pro sports record $16.15m.
1976 — 102nd Kentucky Derby: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. wins aboard Bold Forbes, the second of 3 Derby successes.
1981 — Tennis player Billie Jean King acknowledges a lesbian relationship with Marilyn Barnett, becoming first prominent sportswoman to come out.
1982 — Gato del Sol, ridden by Ed Delahoussaye, comes from last place in a field of 19 to win the Kentucky Derby. Gato del Sol, finishes 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Laser Light, who beat Reinvested by a neck for second. He finishes in 2:02 2/5 and returns $44.40 for a $2 bet. Air Forbes Won, the 5-2 favorite of the crow of 141,009, finishes seventh.
1984 — NFL Draft: Nebraska wide receiver Irving Fryar first pick by New England Patriots.
1988 — After scoring 50 points in Game 1, NBA Eastern Conference playoff series, Michael Jordan has 55 in Chicago Bulls 106-101 win vs Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2; first to score 50+ points in consecutive playoff games.
1991 — Nolan Ryan pitches his seventh no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Ryan faces 29 batters, striking out 16 and walking two.
1991 — Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics sets a major league record by stealing his 939th base, eclipsing Lou Brock’s career mark.
1992 — The Pittsburgh Penguins become the 11th NHL team to rebound from a 3-1 deficit and win a playoff series after beating the Washington Capitals 3-1.
1992 — Rickey Henderson, baseball’s career stolen base leader, steals his 1,000th base in the first inning of Oakland’s 7-6 win over Detroit.
1993 — Bruce Baumgartner wins his 11th straight national wrestling title by beating Joel Greenlee 6-0 in the 286-pound freestyle division at the U.S. championships in Las Vegas.
2002 — Padres closer Trevor Hoffman sets MLB record for saves for one team (321) in 4-3 win v Chicago Cubs in San Diego.
2003 — The three-time defending champion Lakers beat Minnesota 101-85 to win the series 4-2. It’s the 13th straight playoff series won under Phil Jackson, and Jackson-coached teams have an NBA-record 25 consecutive series wins.
2004 — Smarty Jones splashes his way past Lion Heart in the stretch to win the Kentucky Derby. Smarty Jones runs his record to 7 for 7 and becomes the first unbeaten Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977.
2005 — 17-year old Lionel Messi scores his 1st senior league goal for FC Barcelona in 2-0 win against Albacete Balompié, at the Spotify Camp Nou in Barcelona.
2006 — Detroit, winner of the President’s Trophy by leading the league in points (124) this season, is eliminated in the first round for the third time in five postseasons after a 4-3 loss to Edmonton in Game 6.
2010 — Jockey Calvin Borel steers Super Saver through the mud to win his third Kentucky Derby in four years, beating Lookin At Lucky by 2 1/2 lengths. The win ends trainer Todd Pletcher’s Derby drought. Pletcher, who had four horses in the race, came into the race 0 for 24 since 2000.
2019 — Argentine forward Lionel Messi scores twice for his 600th goal for FC Barcelona in a 3-0 home win over Liverpool in a Champions League semifinal.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Nuggets had the Joker. The Clippers had the Choker.
This looked like more of the same from Harden, who scored a combined 23 points and shot just 25% last year in Games 5 and 6 defeats by the Dallas Mavericks that resulted in the Clippers’ first-round exit.
However, coach Tyronn Lue said he was to blame for Harden’s lack of production, saying he was responsible for creating more space for Harden.
“I need to get you more involved,” Harden recalled being told by Lue on the team’s flight home after a Game 5 loss in Denver.
Lue’s solution: To designate more minutes to a smaller lineup that included Nicolas Batum. The Clippers started the second quarter with Harden, Batum, Kawhi Leonard, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Derrick Jones Jr.
“I wanted to get to the small lineup against their second unit,” Lue said. “I thought we were able to push the pace, get open shots, get to the paint, kind of spread ‘em out a little bit so they couldn’t just load up and try to take away driving lanes.
“Going to that and seeing how good it was just to kind of space the floor was really huge for us.”
Harden thrived in that second quarter, scoring 17 points.
“I thought he did a good job attacking one-on-one,” Lue said. “Our spacing was really good tonight. He was able to get to the paint, get to the basket.”
With the Nuggets mindful of Harden, openings were created for others. Norman Powell scored 11 points in the third quarter, during which they were ahead by as many as 15 points. Leonard scored nine of his 27 points in the same period.
Harden finished with a team-high eight assists.
“He’s been here before,” Leonard said of Harden. “Guys have games where they don’t play well during the season. It’s just another game, so I knew he was gonna be able to come back, or he was going to be aggressive and try to get to his spots.”
The Clippers now have a chance.
They have a chance to take down the Nuggets and advance. They have a chance to advance further than any team in franchise history.
That chance, however, is contingent on Harden continuing to play like this and not reverting to his customary postseason form.
Can his body hold up?
Harden played 47 minutes in Game 6, marking the third time in this series he played more than 40 minutes.
He is 35 years old.
“Tired,” Harden said. “Tired, a little bit.”
Does Harden have another 47 or 48 minutes in Denver?
“Have to, have to,” Harden said. “Whatever the team needs, 47, 48, overtime, whatever, I’ll be willing to do it.”
Lue didn’t think fatigue would be a problem for Harden.
“He wants to play every night,” Lue said. “He’s in great shape, trains for these moments. He wants to play.”
Harden averaged more than 35 minutes over 79 regular-season games, and he thinks the workload will prepare him for a Game 7 that will be played 5,280 feet above sea level.
“Prepares your body physically to be able to withstand and just being able to play both ends of the ball,” Harden said. “Your legs are tired, so you’ve been there before. For me, it’s just finding my spots.”
The simple objective could produce monumental changes in reputation — not only for Harden personally but for the Clippers as well.
New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson hits late trey to seal series against Detriot Pistons; LA Clippers beat Denver Nuggets.
Jalen Brunson scored 40 points as the New York Knicks clinched a series victory over the Detroit Pistons while the Los Angeles Clippers downed the Denver Nuggets to set up a titanic NBA playoff decider.
Brunson drained a game-winning three-pointer with four seconds remaining on Thursday to give the Knicks a thrilling 116-113 win over the Pistons and seal a 4-2 series triumph.
In the Western Conference, the Clippers beat the Nuggets 111-105 at the Intuit Dome to level their series 3-3 and force a decisive game seven in Denver on Saturday.
James Harden led the way for the Clippers with 28 points while Kawhi Leonard finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as Los Angeles bounced back from Tuesday’s 131-115 game-five drubbing in Denver.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson dribbles defended by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham [Rick Osentoski/Reuters]
In Detroit, the Pistons had also looked poised to level their best-of-seven series with the Knicks after fighting back from 11 points down to lead 112-105 with just under three minutes remaining.
But an extraordinary late rally spearheaded by Brunson saw the Knicks claw their way back into the contest to tie at 113-113 with 36 seconds left on the clock.
Detroit star Cade Cunningham missed a layup to restore the Pistons lead, and that set the stage for an ice-cold three-pointer from Brunson to give the Knicks what turned out to be the lead.
“I stay poised and I rely on the trust and the composure that my teammates give me,” Brunson said. “None of this happens without them.”
The third-seeded Knicks advance to an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics, the reigning NBA champions, with game one set for Monday.
Brunson finished with 40 points, four rebounds and seven assists, with Mikal Bridges scoring 25 points and OG Anunoby adding 22.
“Jalen’s shot, what can you say?” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Brunson’s game-winning three. “He’s at his best when his best is needed, and he’s done it all year. That’s what makes him special.”
Cunningham led Detroit’s scorers with 23 points, backed by 21 from Jalen Duren and 20 from Malik Beasley.
A see-saw first half saw the Knicks romp into a 14-point lead after the opening quarter, outscoring the Pistons 37-23 thanks to 15 points in the opening frame from Brunson.
But Detroit came roaring back in the second quarter, with the hot hand of Beasley draining five of eight three-point attempts to haul the Pistons back into contention and into a slender lead at half-time.
The Knicks came out for the second half with renewed focus, the defence locking in to halt the flow of Detroit points while at the other end, Brunson and Bridges combined for 21 points to build a double-digit lead.
The momentum shifted once more in the fourth quarter as Detroit fought back against a Knicks team who suddenly looked out of ideas as the Pistons surged into the lead, before Brunson rescued New York at the end.
In Los Angeles, a fired-up Clippers held off a late charge from Denver to secure their series-levelling win.
A nip-and-tuck contest hinged on a huge third quarter by the Clippers, who outscored Denver 32-22 to open up a double-digit lead which stretched to 15 points with just under six minutes remaining.
Denver rallied to cut the gap to just five points with less than a minute remaining, but the Clippers held firm to set up Saturday’s decider.
“It was win or go home – and we didn’t want to go home,” Clippers star Harden said.
“We’ve got one more game in a couple of days. We’ve got to be better. Still a lot of mental mistakes, still a lot of execution that we can get better at. But we’ve got to go out there and take it.”
Denver interim head coach David Adelman pinpointed the third quarter as the moment the game swung away from his team.
“We got sped up, we didn’t handle it – we played defence but we never could come up with the 50-50 ball. That quarter absolutely killed us,” Adelman said.
“We played a really good fourth quarter, but we’ve got to be better throughout the whole game.”
Nikola Jokic led Denver with 25 points while Jamal Murray finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
In 2021, the Clippers lost Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs to the Dallas Mavericks to go down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series but won the next two games and eventually advanced to the franchise’s first conference finals.
Here the Clippers stand again, having lost Game 5 of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets to fall behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and face a must-win Game 6 on Thursday night at Intuit Dome to stave off elimination.
Clippers center Ivica Zubac was a part of that group in 2021 and he’s a major part of this squad now. He recalled the mental fortitude it took for the Clippers to fight back.
After the Clippers were blown out in Game 5 in Denver on Tuesday night, Zubac said it will probably take even more from them this time because the Nuggets are far more formidable with transcendent superstar Nikola Jokic, with All-Star guard Jamal Murray and home-court advantage.
“We got to win,” Zubac said late Tuesday night in Denver. “We got to win both. Take it one game at a time. It’s an elimination game for us. So, we can’t start out like this. We got to leave everything out there, play hard, whatever it takes, whatever we have to do. We got to be better. We got to be ready to do whatever it takes. Treat it one game at a time. Win a Game 6, give yourself a chance to come back here [to Denver] and try to force a Game 7.”
The Clippers have lost the last two games to the Nuggets and in both defeats James Harden hasn’t been a factor.
He has averaged 13 points per game in the two losses, shot 40% from the field and 25% from three-point range.
It’s become clear that the Nuggets have focused their defense on Harden, making sure that Christian Braun is with Harden every step he takes on the court. Harden hasn’t talked to the media after the last two games so it was left up to Clippers coach Tyronn Lue to explain what’s happening with his All-Star guard.
“I think Denver made their mind up, they are going to try to take him out of the series after the first two or three games,” Lue said late Tuesday night in Denver. “They are doing a good job. I got to do a better job of just finding ways to get him open, to get him space and provide more [isolations], just because they are blitzing him so much and trying to beat him to his spots.”
With their season on the line, Lue also talked about the three-point shooting and the effects that has had on the series.
When the Clippers blew out the Nuggets in Game 3 by 34 points, they shot 18 for 39 (46.2%) from three-point range. When the Nuggets blew out the Clippers in Game 5 by 16 points, they made 17 of 33 (51.5%) from three-point range, and that effort was led by Murray, who shot eight for 14 from three.
“I mean, we got to respond,” Lue said. “We blew them out in Game 3 and they came back and responded in Game 4. So, we got to do the same thing. I mean, I don’t know what changes you can make. They made shots. Like I said, making 17 threes and they blew us out. We made 18 threes and we blew them out. So, the three-point line is going to be the most important thing. We got to make sure we are taking care of that, which we didn’t do a good job of tonight. But going back home, Intuit will be rocking. We’ll be fine.”
Starting slowly is another problem the Clippers have dealt with.
In Game 4, they got down by 20 points in the fourth, took a one-point lead and then lost on a buzzer-beating dunk by Aaron Gordon. In Game 5, the Clippers got down by 22 in the fourth, cut the deficit to eight points and then faded.
“Just try to get out to a better start early,” Kawhi Leonard said Tuesday night. “I think pretty much the whole series they probably got out to a great start on us. Just trying to stay in the game early instead of trying to make the heroic comebacks. That’s all we can do. We got to fight, man.”
In the end, the Clippers win or go home for the summer.
“We got to figure it out,” Zubac said. “We got to be better in Game 6.”
Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
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From Broderick Turner: For the Clippers, Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets meant being one more win away from advancing in the playoffs or one more loss away from going home.
But from the start, the Clippers walked a tightrope that had them teetering all game, falling behind from the very beginning, putting stress on their defense. They were unable to contain Jamal Murray in falling behind by 22 points in the fourth quarter and unable to muster enough energy in losing 131-115 on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
“I don’t think (it’s) sense of urgency. I think they kicked our butt,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “They played well. Game 4, like I said, I didn’t think we came out with a sense of urgency. But tonight I thought we had the right intent and they just took it to us.”
With Murray cooking the Clippers for a series-high 43 points, they trail the best-of-seven series 3-2 and are on the brink of being eliminated in the first round for the third straight season.
“I thought the tough start was Jamal Murray,” Lue said. “I thought he came out being aggressive, which we knew he would. That’s why we started off with a blitz against him, just to try to slow him down. We knew in Game 5 he would come out aggressive. He made every shot.”
Win Game 6 on Thursday night at the Intuit Dome or the season is over for the Clippers. If they win, then the winner-take-all Game 7 is Saturday in Denver.
From Dan Woike: When JJ Redick took the Lakers coaching job 10 months ago, he vowed that they would use math to their advantage. Tuesday, standing in the same building where he made that pledge, he said something that would’ve made Isaac Newton fire an apple off the wall.
“We have to win Game 5 and that’s it. It’s been conveyed by coaches [and] players,” Redick said. “Tomorrow’s a Game 7 for us.”
Forget that five and seven are different numbers or that for the Lakers to play an actual Game 7 in this first-round playoff series against Minnesota, they need to win two more times. Redick’s theorem is still sound.
“We definitely should treat it like Game 7. We lose and go home,” star guard Luka Doncic said. “No matter what, we can’t look in the future. So we got to focus on this game and then, from there, go on.”
No. 3 Lakers vs. No. 6 Minnesota Minnesota 117, at Lakers 95 (box score) at Lakers 94, Minnesota 85 (box score) at Minnesota 116, Lakers 104 (box score) at Minnesota 116, Lakers 113 (box score) Wednesday at Lakers, 7 p.m., TNT Friday at Minnesota, TBD* Sunday at Lakers, TBD*
No. 4 Denver vs. No. 5 Clippers at Denver 112, Clippers 110 (OT) (box score) Clippers 105, at Denver 102 (box score) at Clippers 117, Denver 83 (box score) Denver 101, at Clippers 99 (box score) at Denver 131, Clippers 115 (box score) Thursday at Clippers, 7 p.m., TNT Saturday at Denver, TBD*
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 8 Memphis at Oklahoma City 131, Memphis 80 (box score) at Oklahoma City 118, Memphis 99 (box score) Oklahoma City 114, at Memphis 108 (box score) Oklahoma City 117, at Memphis 115 (box score)
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 7 Golden State Golden State 95, at Houston 85 (box score) at Houston 109, Golden State 94 (box score) at Golden State 104, Houston 93 (box score) at Golden State 109, Houston 106 (box score) Wednesday at Houston, 4:30 p.m., TNT Friday at Golden State, TBD* Sunday at Houston, TBD*
Eastern Conference No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 8 Miami at Cleveland 121, Miami 100 (box score) at Cleveland 121, Miami 112 (box score) Cleveland 124, at Miami 87 (box score) Cleveland 138, at Miami 83 (box score)
No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Orlando at Boston 103, Orlando 86 (box score) at Boston 109, Orlando 100 (box score) at Orlando 95, Boston 93 (box score) Boston 107, at Orlando 98 (box score) at Boston 120, Orlando 89 (box score)
No. 3 New York vs. No. 6 Detroit at New York 123, Detroit 112 (box score) Detroit 100, at New York 94 (box score) New York 118, at Detroit 116 (box score) New York 94, at Detroit 93 (box score) Detroit 106, at New York 103 (box score) Thursday at Detroit, 4:30 p.m., TNT Saturday at New York, TBD*
No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Milwaukee at Indiana 117, Milwaukee 98 (box score) at Indiana 123, Milwaukee 115 (box score) at Milwaukee 117, Indiana 101 (box score) Indiana 129, at Milwaukee 103 (box score) at Indiana 119, Milwaukee 118 (OT) (box score)
* if necessary
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The Dodgers’ early season bullpen usage had become so much of a concern, even minor-league pitcher Matt Sauer was keeping tabs on it from the team’s triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate.
Which is why when he took the mound following a call-up to the majors Tuesday night, he was determined to give the Dodgers some badly needed innings.
“Even when we’re down in OKC, you still follow the big league club,” Sauer said. “And I knew the bullpen has been used a lot.”
Indeed, entering Tuesday, no other team had relied upon its relievers more heavily than the Dodgers. Thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness from the starting rotation, their bullpen’s 126 innings were far and away the most in the majors.
Despite that the Dodgers had no choice but to deploy their second bullpen game of the opening month. Only this time they were able to stay away from their most important arms.
Instead, in a 15-2 win over the Miami Marlins, Sauer came to the rescue with five innings of relief, providing the type of length that too often has eluded Dodgers starters.
Jorge Polanco hit two home runs and drove in five runs as the Seattle Mariners beat the Angels5-3 on Tuesday night.
The first blast from Polanco was a three-run shot in the second inning to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead. Polanco then had a two-run shot off reliever Jose Fermin — his ninth homer of the season — to make it 5-1 in the seventh. Polanco, the American League’s reigning player of the week, was already on a tear, going eight for 17 with two doubles, four home runs and eight RBIs in five games last week.
It was enough for Seattle starter Bryce Miller, who gave up two hits in five scoreless innings and struck out six. Miller needed to be sharp too, considering Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz was solid over six innings outside of Polanco’s first homer.
From Ryan Kartje: When Lincoln Riley was hired by USC in the fall of 2021, he brought four staffers with him on the plane from Norman, Okla. Among them was Bennie Wylie, who’d spent the previous four years as Riley’s strength and conditioning coach at Oklahoma.
After three seasons together at USC, their collaboration came to an abrupt halt Tuesday as Riley announced USC is parting ways with Wylie, its director of football sports performance, three days after the Trojans wrapped their spring practice.
Wylie‘s exit was “strictly a football decision,” according to a person familiar with the situation not authorized to speak publicly. Wylie, by all accounts, was well liked within the program and beloved by many players who viewed him as critical to their development. But Riley, the source said, felt USC would be better positioned for future success by moving on.
From John Cherwa: Trainer John Shirreffs is a patient man. He takes his time developing horses. He doesn’t rush them to the track. He doesn’t put them in races until he believes they are ready.
Shirreffs is at Churchill Downs with a horse that is more than ready but doesn’t have a spot in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
Baeza, who finished second in the Santa Anita Derby, is on the outside looking in, needing one horse to scratch before Friday morning to make the starting field. The term is “also eligible,” meaning eligible if a spot opens.
“It’s very awkward,” Shirreffs said standing outside Barn 41 on the Churchill Downs backstretch. “It’s tough to come over here and not know you’re going to run. And then to wait to see if somebody has to scratch, and that’s not something you hope for. You want everybody to enjoy their Derby experience. So, it’s very awkward, but because he has that opportunity it would be a shame if something like that happened and he wasn’t here to run.”
From Kevin Baxter: Growing up Japanese American in Southern California, Saki Watanabe had plenty of role models who showed her she could be whatever she wanted to be. There were baseball players, judges, politicians and actors. Writers, artists, teachers and business leaders.
But there was nobody doing what she wanted to do, which was play soccer.
“I did wish there were other players like me,” said Watanabe, a former college player who now works for Angel City FC’s community team and coaches with the Los Angeles Bulls soccer club. “I didn’t have a player that I looked up to.”
Or, more to the point, one who looked like her. So the message she took away was there was no place in American soccer for Japanese girls.
That’s no longer the case. When Angel City entered the NWSL in 2022, Jun Endo, a Japanese international, was in the starting lineup for the team’s first league game and scored the second NWSL goal in franchise history. Angel City now has three Japanese players on its roster, most in the league, while the Galaxy won the MLS Cup last winter with two Japanese playing key roles.
Rendering of the exterior of Honda Center’s $1 billion renovation.
(Honda Center / OC Vibe)
From Bill Shaikin: For pro sports in Orange County, these are the worst of times. The Angels last appeared in the playoffs 11 years ago, the Ducks seven years ago.
Today, we bring good news to the loyal and long-suffering sports fans of Orange County. In announcing a $1-billion renovation of Honda Center, the Ducks are unveiling what might be the most fan-friendly policy ever adopted in our car-centric local culture: easy parking.
No more cars inching forward to the parking attendant. No more shuffling through your wallet for cash or a credit card. No more scrolling through your phone to find that bar code, or scrambling through your glove compartment to find that parking pass.
Just drive right in and enjoy the show.
“We think this will get people in 20 to 30 minutes faster,” said Bill Foltz, chief executive officer of OC Sports and Entertainment.
From Kevin Baxter: Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark pushed the Kings to the brink of playoff elimination, scoring off a rebound early in the third period to give the Oilers a 3-1 win in Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff at Crypto.com Arena. The Oilers, who lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, can end the Kings’ season for a fourth straight season with another victory.
“It’s hard right now. Obviously everybody’s frustrated,” captain Anze Kopitar said. “But we’ve got to put it behind us. We’ve got to go win a game on the road, and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
Janmark’s goal marked the fourth time in five games the Kings have given up a game-tying or go-ahead score in the final 13 minutes of regulation. It was also the third consecutive come-from-behind win for the Oilers, the first time they’ve done that in the franchise’s playoff history.
Evander Kane had Edmonton’s first goal while the lone Kings’ score came from Andrei Kuzmenko, both in the second period. The Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
The final score wasn’t a true reflection of the game, which the Oilers dominated.
“They were stronger,” said Kings coach Jim Hiller, whose teams lost in regulation for just the seventh time in 44 home games this season, including the playoffs. “They beat us in every area except for the specialty teams. They were just better in every way … we can’t look to one part of our game and think that was acceptable.”
Western Conference Pacific 3 Edmonton vs. Pacific 2 Kings at Kings 6, Edmonton 5 (summary) at Kings 6, Edmonton 2 (summary) at Edmonton 7, Kings 4 (summary) at Edmonton 4, Kings 3 (OT) (summary) Edmonton 3, at Kings 1 (summary) Thursday at Edmonton, 7 p.m., ESPN Saturday at Kings, TBD*
Wild-card 2 St. Louis vs. Central 1 Winnipeg at Winnipeg 5, St. Louis 3 (summary) Winnipeg 2, St. Louis 1 (summary) at St. Louis 7, Winnipeg 2 (summary) at St. Louis 5, Winnipeg 1 (summary) Wednesday at Winnipeg, 6:30 p.m., ESPN Friday at St. Louis, TBD Sunday at Winnipeg, TBD*
Central 3 Colorado vs. Central 2 Dallas Colorado 5, at Dallas 1 (summary) at Dallas 4, Colorado 3 (summary) Dallas 2, at Colorado 1 (OT) (summary) at Colorado 4, Dallas 0 (summary) at Dallas 6, Colorado 2 (summary) Thursday at Colorado, 6:30 p.m., TBS Saturday at Dallas, TBD*
Wild-card 1 Minnesota vs. Pacific 1 Vegas at Vegas 4, Minnesota 2 (summary) Minnesota 5, at Vegas 2 (summary) at Minnesota 5, Vegas 2 (summary) Vegas 4, at Minnesota 3 (OT) (summary) at Vegas 3, Minnesota 2 (OT) (summary) Thursday at Minnesota, 4:30 p.m., ESPN Saturday at Vegas, TBD*
Eastern Conference
Wild-card 2 Ottawa vs. Atlantic 1 Toronto at Toronto 6, Ottawa 2 (summary) at Toronto 3, Ottawa 2 (summary) Toronto 3, at Ottawa 2 (OT) (summary) at Ottawa 4, Toronto 3 (OT) (summary) Ottawa 4, at Toronto 0 (summary) Thursday at Ottawa, 4 p.m., TBS Saturday at Toronto, TBD*
Atlantic 3 Florida vs. Atlantic 2 Tampa Bay Florida 6, at Tampa Bay 2 (summary) Florida 2, at Tampa Bay 0 (summary) Tampa Bay 5, at Florida 1 (summary) at Florida 4, Tampa Bay 2 (summary) Wednesday at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2 Friday at Florida, TBD* Sunday at Tampa Bay, TBD*
Wild-card 2 Montreal vs. Metropolitan 1 Washington at Washington 3, Montreal 2 (OT) (summary) at Washington 3, Montreal 1 (summary) at Montreal 6, Washington 3 (summary) Washington 5, at Montreal 2 (summary) Wednesday at Washington, 4 p.m., ESPN Friday at Montreal, TBD* Sunday at Washington, TBD*
Metropolitan 3 New Jersey vs. Metropolitan 2 Carolina at Carolina 4, New Jersey 1 (summary) at Carolina 3, New Jersey 1 (summary) at New Jersey 3, Carolina 2 (2 OT) (summary) Carolina 5, at New Jersey 2 (summary) at Carolina 5, New Jersey 4 (2 OT) (summary)
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1922 — Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox pitches a 2-0 perfect game against the Detroit Tigers.
1939 — Lou Gehrig sets a MLB record playing his 2,130th consecutive and final game for the New York Yankees.
1958 — Ted Williams is 10th major league player to get 1,000 extra-base hits.
1961 — Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants hits four home runs in a 14-4 victory over the Braves in Milwaukee.
1961 — LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 5th major title by 1 stroke from Patty Berg & Louise Suggs.
1962 — LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 8th major title in a playoff with Ruth Jessen.
1971 — The Milwaukee Bucks become the second team to register a four-game sweep in the NBA championship, beating the Baltimore Bullets 118-106.
1975 — Larry O’Brien is named the NBA’s third commissioner, following J. Walter Kennedy (1963-75) and Maurice Podoloff (1946-63). O’Brien holds the position until 1984.
1976 — Muhammad Ali wins a unanimous 15-round decision over Jimmy Young in Landover, Md., to retain his world heavyweight title.
1985 — NFL Draft: Virginia Tech defensive end Bruce Smith first pick by Buffalo Bills.
1987 — NY Islander Mike Bossy plays his final game.
1992 — The Red Wings and Canucks become the ninth and 10th teams in NHL history to rebound from 3-1 deficits to win playoff series. Detroit beats the Minnesota North Stars 5-2 in the Norris Division, while Vancouver defeats the Winnipeg Jets 5-0 in the Smythe Division.
1993 — Top-ranked Monica Seles is stabbed during a changeover in Hamburg, Germany. Guenter Parche, 38, reaches over a courtside railing and knifes Seles in the back. She has an inch-deep slit between her shoulder blades and missed the remainder of the 1993 season.
2005 — James Toney outpoints John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title in New York. Toney, a former champion at three other weights, wins his third heavyweight bout, becoming the third one-time middleweight champion to take boxing’s top crown.
2010 — Tiger Woods matches the worst nine-hole score of his PGA Tour career and winds up with a 7-over 79 to miss the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship. Woods finishes at 9-over 153, the highest 36-hole total of his career. It’s the sixth time in his 14-year career he misses a cut.
2012 — Manchester City defeat Manchester United 1-0 in what is claimed to be the biggest match in the English Premier League’s history.
2014 — Anze Kopitar scores the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and Jonathan Quick makes 39 saves to cap the Kings’ comeback from three games down with a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the first round. This is the fourth time an NHL team won a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games.
2015 — For the first time in 51 years, the NFL draft returns to Chicago. Florida State’s Jameis Winston is selected by Tampa Bay as the first selection.
2023 — Seattle Kraken become first NHL franchise to earn its first-ever playoff series win against the reigning Stanley Cup champion, eliminating Colorado Avalanche in 7 games.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Jamal Murray’s breakout match against LA Clippers puts Denver Nuggets within a game of the second round of NBA playoffs.
Jamal Murray scored 24 of his game-high 43 points in the second half, and the hosts Denver Nuggets pushed the Los Angeles Clippers to the brink of elimination with a 131-115 win in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series.
Denver have won the past two games to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round matchup. Game 6 is on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Murray scored 11 points in a momentum-turning third quarter on Tuesday night and added 13 more in the fourth, the last on a 3-pointer with 2 minutes 13 seconds left that put the Nuggets up by 20.
Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds – his third triple-double of the series – for the Nuggets, who never trailed. They led by 22 in the fourth quarter for the second straight game, but unlike Saturday, they did not give away the entire lead.
The Clippers used a 17-4 run to get within 116-107 with 4:01 left, but Aaron Gordon hit a lay-up, Murray made a free throw after a transition foul and then a fallaway jumper, and Gordon drained a 3-pointer to seal it.
Russell Westbrook, who missed Game 4 with a foot injury, scored 21 points off the Denver bench. Gordon had 23 points, Michael Porter Jr contributed 14 points, and Christian Braun had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Nuggets shot 17-for-33 (51.5 percent) from 3-point range.
Los Angeles’ James Harden was held to 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting, but Kawhi Leonard had 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Ivica Zubac added 27 points.
Porter opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and a three-point play, Murray drained one from deep and fed Westbrook for a 12-footer to make it 110-88 before Los Angeles closed within nine.
Murray and Porter hit 3-pointers to prompt a 10-2 run at the start of the third quarter, and the Nuggets went ahead 84-67 midway through the period.
The Clippers scored seven points in 43 seconds to get within 88-80, but Braun’s 3-pointer made it 99-83 heading into the fourth.
Denver won Game 4 101-99 at Los Angeles on Sunday when Gordon sensationally dunked the ball at the buzzer.
Denver’s Jamal Murray (#27) was 17-of-26 from the field, including 8-14 on 3-pointers, en route to 43 points against the LA Clippers in Game 5 [Matthew Stockman/Getty Images via AFP]
Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers clinch series
The Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics became the latest teams to book their places in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday as the Detroit Pistons thwarted the New York Knicks to keep their postseason hopes alive.
In Indianapolis, the Pacers battled back from a 20-point deficit and then rallied again in overtime to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-118 and seal a 4-1 victory in their NBA Eastern Conference duel.
The reigning NBA champions Celtics had an easier time of it as they overpowered the Orlando Magic with a series-clinching 120-89 victory at Boston’s TD Garden.
The Knicks, leading their series 3-1, missed the chance to join Boston and Indiana in the second round after losing 106-103 to Detroit at Madison Square Garden.
The Pacers advanced to an Eastern Conference semifinal series with top seeds Cleveland after pulling off a remarkable overtime Houdini act.
The Pacers trailed 118-111 with 40 seconds remaining but launched an 8-0 run that culminated with Tyrese Haliburton’s driving layup to clinch victory with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
A late blunder by Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr, who fumbled a wide-open pass to turn over possession and set up Haliburton’s winning layup, proved pivotal.
“Both teams literally left every single ounce of everything they had out there, including timeouts – nobody had anything left,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
“But you know, fortune favours the bold. And our guys were bold in the last three quarters, and we’re very grateful and thankful to be moving on.”
Tyrese Haliburton (#0) of the Indiana Pacers shoots the game-winning shot against Giannis Antetokounmpo (#34) of the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, US on April 29, 2025 [Ron Hoskins/Getty Images via AFP]
Pivotal because the winner in a series that’s tied at 2-2 will be one win away from advancing in the Western Conference playoffs.
Pivotal because the loser will be one loss away from their season being over.
Pivotal because the team that wins Game 5 and subsequently takes a 3-2 lead in the series has gone on to win the series 81.3% of the time, according to the NBA.
So for the Clippers, this fifth game is about tilting the odds back in their favor and the only way to do that is to win Game 5 in Denver on Tuesday night.
“That means it’s an important game,” Clippers center Ivica Zubac said after practice Monday. “Every one of them is important. But in a mini-series, a best-of-three, you for sure want to get the next one. So, you want to get a Game 5 for sure. It’s a very important game. But I’ve been in a series where we were 2-2, we lost Game 5 and we still came back and won in seven. So, just got to win two.”
Zubac was talking about when the Clippers lost the first two games to the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs in 2021, won the next two to tie the series, lost Game 5, but won the next two games to win the series 4-3. That Clippers group just happened to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history.
As for the current Clippers team, Zubac said: “There’s been a sense of urgency. Nothing changed for us. Best-of-seven. Best-of-five. Best-of-three. Whatever. We got to win four games.”
The Clippers have won in Denver during this series, taking Game 2 and stealing the home-court advantage away from the Nuggets — only to give it back in a dramatic Game 4 loss.
Three of the four games have been decided by three points or less, so one would think the Game 5 will be even more intense than the others.
“You would think so, but I haven’t really looked at it and said Game 5 is something different,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after practice Monday. “But all these games are the same. Like, you got to be ready to compete from the start. You got to have an attack mentality on both sides of the basketball and you just got to go from there.”
This game will also call for the Clippers to find a way to slow down Denver’s otherworldly center Nikoka Jokic, who after averaging a triple-double during the regular season (29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists) is averaging 28.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 10.8 assists in this series.
Zubac will be assigned to Jokic, like he has all season and in the playoffs. But the Clippers will send plenty of bodies Jokic’s way.
Zubac said the only way to not get discouraged is to “not get bored with the process.”
“It’s what he does,” Zubac said. “It’s what he’s been doing for years now and he averaged triple-double through the regular season. So, it’s what he does. That’s how they play, and that’s it.
“You shouldn’t be discouraged by looking at the other players’ stats. You should be discouraged if you’re down 20 or something. Like, you shouldn’t be discouraged when he got a triple-double and the score is good for us. So, we’re focused on winning. We’re not looking at the other player’s stats and being discouraged by them. We want to win the game.”
Still, Lue was asked what will the Clippers do differently on defense against Jokic now.
“We’ll see,” Lue said. “We’ll see tomorrow.”
The Clippers had two days off to recover from the sting of losing Game 4.
They got down by 22 points in the fourth quarter, took a one-point lead and then tied the score — only to have Jokic shoot an airball on a step-back three-pointer that Aaron Gordon caught by the rim and dunked as time expired.
“Sometimes basketball can be amazing and it can be cruel as well,” Nicholas Batum said. “We got to move on. It’s 2-2. We’re right where we’re supposed to be, both teams. Now we got to go out there [to Denver]. We done [won] it once, almost did it twice in their place. We have to go there, regroup, move on. It’s a tough one, but we still got a chance to win this series and we hope to take another one and come back here.”
Typically, Kawhi Leonard said after Game 4 Saturday at Intuit Dome, the four and five seeds in NBA playoff matchups are equal in many ways.
That appears to very much be the case in the fifth-seeded Clippers’ first-round series against the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets.
They have each won two games, with Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday night in Denver.
They had identical 50-32 records and split the four games they played against each other in the regular season.
“It’s like another four, five seeding series,” Leonard said. “You usually get some tough battles in these seedings. You guys watched the ending of the last two weeks, three weeks of the season and everybody was fighting. I think we pretty much have the same record. So, that’s how it is. The matchups might be different, different styles of play, but both teams are fighting to win.”
The latest loss was emotionally draining for the Clippers after their rally from a 22-point deficit fell just short.
“Just bounce back,” Norman Powell said. “We know what time it is. We’ve all said it — that’s a good team over there. They’ve won a championship. They know what it takes. They got the will, they got the guys, they are not going to quit. It’s just us going back to the drawing board and seeing how we can improve.”
All five of Denver’s starters played at least 42 minutes in Game 4. But they got two days off to recover.
And the Nuggets have Jokic — he’s averaging a triple-double in the series with 28.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 10.8 assists.
“We’re going back to Denver, so I think now it’s best-of-three and the series is even and it’s completely different, I would think,” Jokic said.
The Clippers are leaning on their four top players to guide them and their formidable defense.
Leonard leads in scoring (26.5 points per game), followed by James Harden (21.3), Ivica Zubac (18.8) and Powell (16.8). Zubac leads the Clippers in rebounding (11.5 per game), Harden leads in assists (9.5), Leonard leads in steals (1.8) and veteran Nicholas Batum leads in blocks (1.2).
The Clippers are holding the Nuggets to 99.5 points per game in the series, the fifth-best defense in the postseason.
“We feel good that we can beat this team,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
