Clippers Advance to Second Round, Nuggets Force Game 7

Posted on by Sagar Biswas

Coming off of a historic work stoppage where NBA players took a stand in wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting, the NBA resumed its games this weekend.

What We Know:

  • The most anticipated matchups of the weekend took place on Sunday evening where the Los Angeles Clippers took on the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets played the Utah Jazz. Both were crucial elimination games full of drama and excitement.
  • Coming into Game 6 of Clippers-Mavericks, the series had been extremely physical and chippy. Kristaps Porzingis had already been ejected in Game 1 for a physical altercation and Montrezl Harrell stirred up some controversy when he was seen on camera saying some nasty words to Luka Doncic. Furthermore, there was tension brewing between Doncic and Marcus Morris after Morris repeatedly stepped on Luka’s injured ankle. Nevertheless, it has been one of the most exciting series of the playoffs with some dazzling play from Kawhi Leonard and Luka Doncic’s unforgettable Game 4 buzzer-beater.
  • The Clippers entered the game with a 3-2 series lead looking to close out the Mavericks. The game started off with some drama when Marcus Morris was ejected in the first quarter for a flagrant 2 foul on Luka Doncic. The Clippers took control in the second half with a 23-point lead that looked insurmountable, but Doncic got the Mavs back into the game during the fourth quarter. Doncic led a Mavericks run which cut the Clippers lead to 6, but Kawhi Leonard took over in the clutch and put Dallas away for good.
  • Luka Doncic finished the game with 38 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists and Kawhi Leonard ended with 33 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. The Clippers will advance to the second round and play the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Utah Jazz series.
  • The final game of the night was an intense Game 6 between the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets. The series initially looked like it would be over quick when the Jazz took a 3-1 lead, but it has surprisingly turned into the most exciting first round playoff series. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been on a tear the last three games of the series and has brought the Nuggets back to even the series at 3-3. Murray took over in this game scoring 50 points to defeat the Jazz 119-107 and force a win-or-go-home Game 7. Murray gave an emotional and powerful postgame interview discussing what the past days have been like for NBA players.

  • The Nuggets-Jazz series has boiled down to the showdown between Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray. Both guards have put on a show in each game trading 40-point and 50-point performances. In Game 1, Mitchell tallied the third highest scoring performance in a playoff game with 57 points. Murray has scored at least 40 points in the last three games, making him the first player to do so in a playoff series since Allen Iverson in 2001. Both guards have scored 50 points twice in this series, joining Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan as the only players with multiple 50-point games in a playoff series. This is also the first time two opposing players in a series have scored 50 points in multiple games. The tremendous scoring of Murray and Mitchell and the close games have made this one of the most intense first round playoff series in recent memory.

The Jazz and Nuggets will play Game 7 on Tuesday night. If the Nuggets win, they could become one of the few teams in NBA history to complete a 3-1 series comeback.

Related Posts