Clippers-Nuggets series packed with high-level playoff intensity

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The Clippers and Nuggets have delivered everything a basketball fan could hope for in a four vs. five matchup—all the chippiness of postseason intensity, a team rallying from an improbable deficit, and a last-second heartbreak that crushed the very team that fought so hard to survive.

Are you not entertained?

Heading into the series, expectations for Clippers-Nuggets were low, relegated to NBA TV and an afternoon time slot. But it’s quickly turned into the most thrilling matchup of the playoffs.

With three of the first four games decided by three points or fewer, and the series now tied 2-2 after the latest, exhilarating last-second victory by the Nuggets, 101-99, this series deserves your full attention.

The ending of game four came down to inches, to milliseconds—a fate sealed when Nikola Jokić’s one-footed three-pointer airballed as the clock expired, just before Aaron Gordon’s last-gasp put-back dunk.

And yes, there’s no shortage of times this franchise has lost in the most "Clippers" way possible, but we wouldn’t have even reached that point if it weren’t for their fight. Down 22 points at the start of the fourth quarter, they mounted an improbable comeback, eventually taking the lead with 1:11 to go. 

Eventually, they lost it, tied the game back up, only to fall in a demoralizing fashion at the end.

But what else would you expect from two teams that fought down the stretch to avoid the play-in tournament? Two squads with similar records, yet contrasting styles of play. This series has emerged as the most captivating matchup of the playoffs by far.

“You usually get some tough battles in these seeds,” Kawhi Leonard said. “You guys watched the end of the last two, three weeks of the season and everybody was fighting. That’s all it is…Both teams are fighting to win.”

What looked like a Clipper team ready to finish off a downed opponent after Thursday’s blowout—leaving Denver looking like a team on life support—quickly shifted. 

Saturday’s matchup turned into a battle of physicality and chippiness, the kind of game that makes for captivating basketball but also threatens to change the series' dynamic going forward.

The refs clearly let the game get physical—arguably too physical—to the point it may have swung the outcome. The amped-up defense and swallowing of whistles led to what wasn’t quite a full-blown brawl, but something closer to a donnybrook just before halftime.

A series of escalating encounters began when Christian Braun and James Harden got nose-to-nose. This sparked Harden to attempt a shove at an incoming Gordon. Then, a riled-up Gordon proceeded to make an “open-hand” swing that connected with Norman Powell’s chin.

After the dust settled, a lengthy review from all angles resulted in six offsetting technical fouls, but no ejections. The referees later explained that they felt “everyone involved had an equitable role in the altercation,” and therefore handed out “equitable penalties.”

Yet, Gordon was the only player to make contact with an opponent, raising the question of whether he should have been ejected. However, the referees allowed him to stay in the game, citing that “a closed fist attempt to punch someone, whether it makes contact or not, would definitely fall under an ejectable offense.” 

Since Gordon’s hand was open, he remained on the floor—and ultimately set up the game-winning dunk.

While this may be entertaining, both teams are now left to navigate this kind of physicality as the series progresses. It’s not the first time Powell has been caught in the middle of over-aggressive play and inconsistent officiating; in game two, Jamal Murray even lifted Powell off the ground.

“This is what we want,” Powell said, with a noticeable knot between his eyebrows. “This is what you work for, tight, intense playoff series. No team is willing to give an inch, no team is willing to back down. It’s going to get chippy, it’s going to be a fight.”

What’s left is a three-game series, with the Clippers heading back to Denver twice next week, needing at least one win on the road to keep their playoff hopes alive. They’ll do so against what now looks like a reawakened Jokić.

They are going to need to increase their intensity, which may work in their favor when guarding the big Serbian, but even when Jokić is blanketed by defenders, with bodies on his back, arms wrapped around his waist, and even underneath him, he’s still managed to show why this year’s MVP race is such a hotly debated topic.

His effort ultimately propelled the Nuggets to victory, finishing with 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists. In the third quarter alone, he dropped 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists, helping Denver build a 22-point lead.

“Go to Denver on Tuesday and be ready with a new mindset of what we need to do,” Tyronn Lue said. “We'll be ready for the next game. But our mentality is like, ‘Listen, we understand how we gotta play, the blueprint, but now we just gotta do it.’"