BJ Mathews is the host of the THE PULL UP! Basketball Podcast. He is a Clippers credentialed creator representing thePeachBasket. In this article, Clippers Force Game 7: Harden’s Redemption Ignites Intuit Dome in Thrilling Win Over Nuggets, he recaps the Clippers big win in an elimination game that sends the series back to Denver!
INGLEWOOD, CA – — A loud energetic arena proved to be a persuading factor on the outcome of Game 6 at Intuit Dome. The Los Angeles Clippers came out and took care of business on their home court against the visiting Denver Nuggets. This has now positioned a do or die Game 7 in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado Saturday afternoon.
Clippers Force Game 7: Response to Pressure
The Clippers came into this game with an extreme amount of pressure not only because of what happened in Game 5, but also having to not disappoint in front of their fanbase. The Clippers came out and played with a different sense of energy from what they did in the previous game. Starting with James Harden, who struggled in the previous game shooting 3-9 scoring only 11 points. He made up for it tonight scoring a game high 28 points. However, it was more about how he scored rather than how much he scored. Harden’s first eight points were all layups attacking the rim with aggressiveness.
Harden’s Perspective
“So, I had multiple conversations with [Tyronn] Lue even after game five and he came up to me on the plane and was like I need to get you more involved. I got the ball in my hands so often it seems like I can just do anything, but we still have an offense to run. So tonight, the game plan was more of me being in attack mode and making sure our spacing was right and as a result be more aggressive,” Harden said. Harden playing 47 out of the 48 minutes just shows how big of a piece he was tonight.
Powell Steps Up
Another player, that had it going was Guard Norman Powell who also had a rough Game 5 scoring only 12 points 5-12 from the field. As the player, who was the leading scorer on the team all the way up until March that will not cut it.
When asked about his Game 6 performance this was Powell’s response: “Just putting an emphasis on it, that’s been the game plan all series, but just having every single time I touch the ball, it’s just attacking the paint. Honestly, it was just focusing on winning and executing the game plan to the best of my ability in this game.” Powell scoring 24 points only behind Harden (28) and Kawhi Leonard (27) shows how important he is.
Nuggets Confident Despite Loss
However, on the Nuggets side they are supremely confident going into a Game 7 back to Denver. Head Coach David Adelman had this to say: “Yeah, we talked about it, you know, after the game. You win those last three games, not just to stay out of the play in, but to get the home court and game seven. Bottom line. And we earned it. And that’s what I told him in there. You’ve earned this opportunity.”
“You earned the opportunity tonight to try to close it out because of the way you played in the series, you get to 3-2. But now you have the opportunity to go home in front of your home fans, and advance. And so, you know, you play all year for that. We got that opportunity, and we’re very, very excited to go back out to play.” Adelman said, going into game 7 while they would’ve liked to close it out tonight, he saw they played a solid fourth quarter that can carry onto the next game.
Murray’s Focus on Game 7
Nuggets Guard Jamal Murray who just had a series high of 43 points in a pivotal Game 5 also has the highest ppg increase between the regular season and playoffs in NBA history. His mindset was focused on one thing and one thing only. “I would love to talk about that but I’m just not in the mood right now bro. We lost. We got to go take care of business in game 7…and yeah, go to win game 7 at home.” Murray finished with 21 points going 9-19 from the field not anywhere near his Game 5 performance but based on his postgame response he is locked in for what’s ahead.
Series Defining Storylines
This without a doubt, has been the best series of the playoffs with all the emotions and story lines. Obviously, the 2020 bubble between the Clippers-Nuggets where the Nuggets came back from a 3-1 deficit. Would Kawhi Leonard’s health translate from the regular season into the playoffs? How would the Nuggets answer in the aftermath of firing their former Head Coach Mike Malone? Russell Westbrook going against his old team which he has been very good this series.
Many questions have been brought to the forefront, and in the next 24-48 hours all questions will be answered, sealed, and delivered.
