Match 1 between Denver's Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers was up to the media threshing.
The Clippers took control early on Saturday with a first half's lead in the first half. But the nuggets rallied in a second fascinating half before securing A 112-110 victory in overtimeFood by several large games of Russell Westbrook on the section.
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The start of Saturday's match took place like a high -top of everything that predicted to go wrong for the nuggets in this series. James Harden succeeded with a porous defense of the nuggets en route around 15 points from the first quarter. Ivica Zubac was up to her anti-Joker status with a strong start on both sides of the court in her match with Nikola Jokić. And Jokić obtained little aid from an absent support cast of another All-Star.
Nuggets Contrac Gap after the start of hot mower
The Clippers opened an advance of 51-36 quarters, amazing a crowd of Denver which there are two seasons applauded Jokić and the Nuggets in the first NBA championship of the franchise.
But the Nuggets closed half-time on a 13-2 race to reduce the deficit to the break, and the match was a battle throughout the second half and overtime. Denver reduced his deficit to one point several times before a Jamal Murray 3 tied the match at 81-81.
Nikola Jokic (15) and the Nuggets have a 1-0 series advance on the Clippers. (Aaron Oniveroz / The Denver Post)
(Aaron Ontivieroz via Getty Images)
Russell Westbrook arrives late
A decline in Westbrook gave Denver his first lead from the second half to 93-92 with 3:37 to play. Another Westbrook layup resumed the advance for Denver at 95-94. Then, with the nuggets that drag 96-95 in the last 30 seconds, Westbrook struck a corner 3 on a jokić pass to give the nuggets a two-point lead.
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But Harden responded with a lay-up in traffic to equalize the game with 18.7 seconds to play, finally forcing overtime after Denver failed to shoot his final possession of regulation.
Aaron Gordon opened the additional session with a dunk on the next possession of Denver, and the Nuggets no longer felt.
A Christian Braun 3 extended the Denver's advance at 108-104 with 59.1 seconds remaining. Then, Westbrook, who played with the starters of Denver in the section of the regulation and during the entire overtime, found the big final game, forcing a turnover outside the limits of Harden on a failed clippers game.
Jokić extended Denver's advance at 112-107 with free throws on the possession of Nuggets who followed to win the victory. The 3 -point pointer from Norman Powell with 1 second remaining had no impact on the outcome of the game.
The nuggets occur under fire
The victory gives Denver an advance of the 1-0 series in one of the early clashes of the first round after a tumultuous conclusion of the regular season.
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Denver entered the playoffs surrounded by chaos after the boss of Nuggets Josh Kroenke The head coach licensed Michael Malone and the managing director Calvin Booth With three games to play in the regular season. With the former Malone assistant, David Adelman, as an acting head coach, the Nuggets won their last three games to win the head of 4 in the West and the advantage of the field at home against Los Angeles.
The Clippers, on the other hand, entered the series in tears with a sequence of eight consecutive victories and an 18-3 finish in the regular season behind a Kawhi Leonard Resurgent. But it was the Nuggets, anchored by a nucleus that won a championship in 2023, which turned out to be the best and better bought team in match 1.
Jokić, as usual, paved the way with 29 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds and three interceptions. He scored 12 points in the third quarter, including a paid lay-up after a flight to reduce clippers' advance to 75-72.
Murray, who was under fire in the section of the regular season when he missed six consecutive games with a mysterious knee disease, collected 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists during a return to his performance in the playoffs from the 2023 championship race. Gordon scored 25 effective points (8 out of 14 on the field) with eight rebounds, to the nuggets of the second critical chances in the section.
And Westbrook, who has dug a role in the end of the match with the Nuggets despite Some large -scale errors In pressure situations, I played a volatile 34 minutes from the bench. He took and missed several shots that the clippers' defense gave him in an effort of 5 out of 17 on the ground. But he compensated for the Misses with his multitude of clutch games at the end of the fourth quarter and extension to help seal Denver's victory.
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Leonard, the mowers fade late
Leonard, who sparked the hot clippers who flowed the section of the regular season, finished with 22 points, six rebounds, two assists and three interceptions. But he faded late on the attack with only four points in the 7:45 finals of the regulation and combined extensions, and finished with seven reversals.
Zubac, who freshly released a regular season career campaign, defended Jokić and anyone during the regular season. He played a strong match on both sides of the ball on Saturday with 21 points and 13 rebounds while pulling 10 out of 15 on the field.
Harden led the Clippers with 43 minutes despite a large part of the match in big problems after removing three in the first half. He led the Clippers with 32 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. But it was not enough to lead Los Angeles to victory.
The Clippers and Nuggets will again compete in match 2 Monday in Denver.
