With help from bench, Jokic, Nuggets dominate Clippers in Game 7 to advance

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets were not going to let history repeat itself.

A year after blowing a 20-point fourth quarter lead in Game 7 to the Timberwolves, the Nuggets led by up to 35 and were not going to let the Clippers make a late comeback, ultimately cruising to a 120-101 win that makes the game sound closer than it actually was.

“This was not the championship,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “I’m sure it kind of felt like that to the fans on both sides because the series was so insane and the ups and downs were so crazy — it’s one of those series you won’t forget that you were a part of.”

As great as Nikola Jokic was — 16 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists — what turned the game was the play of Russell Westbrook, Payton Watson, and the Nuggets’ bench. The Clippers were the better team through 12 minutes and led 21-16 after one quarter, but with Jokic on the bench, the Nuggets made a 7-0 run to start the second quarter. Things snowballed from there. The success of their bench was a huge change for the Nuggets, who have struggled with depth in this series and throughout the season.

Even before the second quarter run, the Nuggets were outworking and out executing the Clippers, and that gulf widened as the game went on. Aaron Gordon led a balanced Nuggets attack with 22 points, while Christian Braun had 21. Westbrook came off the bench to score 16.

“In playoffs we know that everybody needs to step up, offensively, defensively, whatever, energy-wise. And everybody who plays needs to contribute something,” Jokic said. “It was special today the guys did that.”

Kawhi Leonard had another solid game leading the Clippers with 22 points. However, James Harden, who had faded as the series went on until he bounced back with a huge Game 6, returned to his struggles and finished with 7 points. Denver’s Christian Braun had a strong night defending him.

“James is a tough cover. He is one of the best one-on-one players to play the game and I think Christian did a good job trying to make the game difficult on him,” Westbrook said after the game. I thought he did an excellent job and he has been doing that all year.”

It was a rough way to end the season for a Clippers team that overachieved all season, winning 50 games despite losing Paul George to Philadelphia last summer. Tyronn Lue did a brilliant coaching job this season, getting the most out of an aging roster, and they were finally healthy. Still, it was not enough for the Clippers to get out of the first round. If the Clippers want to think about what cost them this series, it was not Game 7, but rather a come-from-ahead loss in Game 1 and the Aaron Gordon tip-dunk game winner in Game 4 they should look back on and wins.

Los Angeles has financial flexibility heading into next season, but how will it add players to improve what they already have?

Denver is going to Oklahoma City, where it will face a rested Thunder team that is deeper and better than the Clippers.

“It feels good,” Adelman said of the win, “but I also know we’re flying to OKC tomorrow.”