The Clippers and Nuggets face off in do-or-die Game 7 showdown
The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers are set for a winner-takes-all Game 7 Saturday night that will determine who moves on to face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.
Denver enters as slight 1-point favorites at home according to BetOnline.
This is the moment basketball fans live for – Game 7, everything on the line, no tomorrow for the loser.
Both teams finished the regular season with identical 53-35 records, though the Clippers were much better against the spread (50-37-1) than Denver (40-46-2).
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Ball Arena in Denver and will be broadcast on TNT and truTV.
James Harden and Kawhi Leonard powered the Clippers to a clutch Game 6 win on Thursday night, scoring 28 and 27 points respectively to force this decisive game.
"He’s been here before," Leonard said about Harden’s performance. "Guys have games where they don’t play well during the season. It’s just another game, so I knew he was going to be able to come back, or he was going to be aggressive and try to get to his spots."
The win was especially meaningful for Harden, who hadn’t won an elimination game since 2020 when he was still with the Houston Rockets.
Denver knows all about Game 7 pressure. This is their fourth Game 7 since 2019, and they’ve gone 2-1 in those high-stakes situations.
But last year’s Game 7 still stings.
The Nuggets blew a massive 20-point second-half lead against Minnesota in the second round, watching their championship hopes crumble on their home court.
"We’re going to look back at that, use it as a lesson learned," said Nuggets interim coach David Adelman. "But this is now. This is a different team that we’re competing against."
These teams have Game 7 history. Denver beat the Clippers in their only previous Game 7 matchup during the 2020 NBA Bubble, completing a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.
The Clippers have actually been pretty good in first-round Game 7s, going 4-1 all-time. But they’ve won just one of those on the road since 1978.
Denver’s home-court advantage could be huge. The Clippers are just 2-9 in their last 11 games at Ball Arena.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Nuggets have a 56.3% chance of winning.
The Nuggets will be without rookie center DaRon Holmes II (Achilles), while the Clippers report no injuries heading into the decisive contest.
For the winner? A date with the young, hungry Oklahoma City Thunder awaits.
