Denver – The clippers coach had never lost a match 7, and his players therefore knew that they could rely on Tyronn Lue to direct them in the most important match of their 2024-25 campaign.
But read was the first to say that he is the coach and does not play, that his brand 4-0 in the seventh game in an eliminatory series is because “it takes very good players” to accomplish this difficult feat and that he thought that he had these very good players of Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and the rest of his crew to face the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in Ball Arena.
The chances, however, were against the clippers winning this decisive match on the road and the Nuggets made sure to keep it in their favor with a beat of 120-101.
Clippers coach Tyronn reads, on the right, looks with goalkeeper Bogdan Bogdanovic, on the left, during the second half of the end of the team at Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
The home team had won 74.2% of the time in matches 7, and winning the 4-3 series for the best of seven on the clippers, the Nuggets left little doubt while exalting the game open in the fourth quarter in the creation of a 35-point lead.
“You hate seeing them go out like that in a match 7,” said Lue. “So it’s very disappointing.”
When the Nuggets opened an advance of 65-50 on a Dunk Aaron Gordon, forcing a dead time, the fans started to sing, “Beat the”
And they did it importantly, breaking the spirit of the clippers in the third quarter with an explosion of 35-19, the start of sending the clippers home for the summer to contemplate what could have been and send the nuggets for the second round against Oklahoma City.
“I think we could have made a better effort, that’s for sure,” said Leonard, who had 22 points. “At the time, I don’t think this team is 30 points better than we have seen throughout the first six games in this series. But they were credited. They went out and fought, ran hard in transition, obtained easy dots and they shot.”
Clipper goalkeeper James Harden tries to pass the ball at the front Derrick Jones Jr. between Nuggets Guards Jamal Murray, on the left, and Christian Braun (0) in match 7.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
Harden was again a disappointment, his seven points out of two for eight shots and 13 help another point for him in this series.
Harden did not speak after the match, just as he did not speak after defeats in matches 4 and 5.
“They played louder,” said Ivica Zubac, who had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. “They beat us in all aspects of the game. It was the difference.”
Nikola Jokic was not as clear as this series, but he finished with 16 points on shots of six for 14, eight rebounds, eight assists and five faults which limited his time on the field.
Gordon worked on the clippers for 22 points, Jamal Murray was 16 years old and Clippers Nemesis Russell Westbrook enjoyed all his 16 points against his former teammates.
Lue made a change in his programming, inserting Derrick Jones Jr. as a starter in place of Kris Dunn, then starting Nicolas Batum in the third quarter on Jones, which was a sign for his team that he was ready to do what is necessary in a match 7.
“In a match 7, there is no tactic,” said Batum. “Who wants it more. They clearly wanted it more than us. ”
The defense is where it was going to start for the clippers and that is what allowed them to control at the start of the game.
They invaded Jokic in the first, which makes it so difficult that it missed its first five shots in the quarter and only scored two points.
They smothered Murray in the first 12 minutes, which makes him so difficult that he missed his first four shots and had only one point.
They put a grip on the Nuggets in the first quarter, holding them at 38.1% of shooting in the field and 25% of the range of three points and 21 points.
But all that moment that the Clippers had in the first shifted in the second quarter.
They could not hold the nuggets during these 12 minutes, abandoning 37 points, which allows them to make 50% of their shots and 50% (four for eight) from the beach of three points.
He went down from there for the Clippers.
They went 50-32 in the regular season, the same record as the Nuggets. They were the team of the fifth seed for the Western Conference.
But in the end, none of this was important. The Clippers season is over.
“I would say that this group deserves better finish, I would say,” said Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had 12 points on the bench. “It’s not a way to finish it. But we were able to look at the mirror. That’s it.”
