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Nuggets Fans Suffer Ugly Flashbacks After Game Six Win by Clippers

And game seven at home on Saturday is far from a lock...
May 2, 2025
Image: Interim Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman as seen in a post-game interview following the L.A. Clippers' game six victory on May 1.
Interim Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman as seen in a post-game interview following the L.A. Clippers' game six victory on May 1. Denver Nuggets via YouTube

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After the Los Angeles Clippers won game six in the NBA playoffs first-round matchup on May 1, fans of the Denver Nuggets suffered déjà vu all over again.

A year ago, the Nuggets faced a similar scenario: a seventh and deciding contest at home, with a victory needed to continue their postseason run. Their opponent was the Minnesota Timberwolves, and even though Denver delivered a pummeling early on, the Nugs eventually choked in ways so devastating that the pain still lingers.

Given how Denver faltered against the Clip show last night, even the team's biggest boosters wonder if they're doomed to repeat this gruesome slab of history.

Nikola Jokić and his comrades certainly entered Intuit Dome in L.A. with momentum. They'd fallen into a 2-1 series hole thanks to a massive blowout at the venue — and the situation seemed destined to grow worse when they gagged up a 22-point bulge in their next visit to the Intuit hardwood. But Aaron Gordon's last-microsecond dunk for the ages temporarily saved them from that fate, and in their return to the Mile High City, Jamal Murray finally awakened from his scoring slumber to put up a 43 piece. The 22-point gap on that night began to evaporate, too, but before it could dry up entirely, the squad (including a bizarrely effective Russell Westbrook) made it rain in a manner that recalled their championship march of just two years ago.

The win meant that the Nuggets could advance to the second round and a date with the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder if they could collect a W back in Los Angeles — and early on, this prospect seemed well within the realm of reality. Murray shot well early, Westbrook made more positive contributions than negative ones (never a guarantee), and Jokić put up enough buckets to keep his minions within one point at halftime.

But then came an all-too-familiar third quarter collapse, when the warning signs that had flashed during the first two stanzas lit up like Chappell Roan's makeup mirror. The Nuggets' turnover total rose to dangerous heights — they finished with twelve — as their offensive rebounds dwindled. They ended with ten such boards, but a big chunk of those came in the waning minutes. Prior to that, the Clippers got second chance upon second chance, and they cashed in early and often.

Although James Harden did most of his damage before intermission (he wound up notching 28 points), a revitalized superstar Kawhi Leonard and sharpshooter Norman Powell, among others, exploited Denver's largesse in puke-inducing ways. Add contributions from surprise starter Nicolas Batum, whose shot-blocking ability was on full display, plus deep-bench representatives Derrick Jones Jr. and Bogdan Bogdanovich (Jokić's Serbian national teammate, who would have looked great in a Nuggets uniform), and the result was a Clippers lead that ballooned to fifteen points just under the six minute mark.

Denver sliced into that margin owing to a rare blunder by Clippers coach Ty Lue, who allowed Harden to repeatedly dribble the shot clock down to single digits before moving into an offensive set — a strategy that effectively killed the momentum L.A. had generated. But the deficit ultimately proved too great even after Murray got aggressive again following an inexplicable second-half vanishing act — an unfortunate trick that left Jokić looking like Gulliver being swarmed by Lilliputians on too many possessions. No wonder the Denver crew appeared so downbeat as they stumbled off the floor while Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the rest of the crowd did a Mount Vesuvius impression over the 111-105 victory.

No, the game wasn't a must-win for Denver. But their usual home-court advantage has been a no-show far too many times this campaign, and the number of times Lue has outcoached interim boss David Adelman hardly makes for a confidence boost. Hence, the anxiety over the decisive showdown set for Saturday exhibited by Nuggets Nation on social media in the immediate aftermath of the loss.

It's not the only game seven happening that day: By swamping the Dallas Stars 7-4 on Thursday night, the Colorado Avalanche guaranteed a return trip to Texas and that team's own chance to avoid a first-round exit. The coincidence is mentioned in several of the twenty posts from X below, including the last one, which puts a welcome positive spin on an otherwise desultory Nuggets performance.

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Image: Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.
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