Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. NBA Playoff Basketball is going on!
The Nuggets have pushed the Clippers to a Game 7. Yeah, we can’t believe it, either.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Mark J. Terrill/AP.)
The Clippers were up by 19 points, 68-49. SURELY, the Clippers can waltz to their first Western Conference Finals in franchise history. Their fellow professional Los Angeles NBA team is already there and both fan bases have been waiting for this battle forever. It was sure to happen, right?
For the second straight game, the Denver Nuggets wasn’t having any of that.
Clips were up, 73-55. And then suddenly, it was like the Monstars took the Clippers’ talent. Denver took advantage as the Clippers missed 9 straight shots, including ones from point blank. Once the Clippers lost the lead, they looked flumoxxed. Suddenly, Denver couldn’t stop making threes. It was the reason for the 13-point margin; the Clippers just… wilted.
I mean, Doc Rivers dismissed that this team isn’t like the one in 2015. But they ARE becoming that team that was like the one in 2015. They also blew a 19-point lead in Game 6 against the Rockets five years ago. And what’s alarming was that, again, this was the second straight game they blew a big lead; they led by 16 in Game 5. They had two chances to put the Nuggets away… and they failed both times.
Credit to Denver, though. They played great defense and took advantage of match-ups (Montrezl Harrell didn’t stand a chance against Nikola Jokic). Jokic finished with 34-14-7. The Clips only scored 35 points in the second half. I don’t know who the hell the Clippers think they are if they can’t finish off the job for two straight games.
The good news is that there is STILL a Game 7. The bad news is that if the Clips lose, we’ll never hear the end of it from the basketball world. We’d definitely never hear the end of it from the annoying faction of the Lakers fan base. They would be insufferable for a long, long time.
Denver also has the chance to do something that has never been done before. We were so hypnotized by that Jamal Murray/Donovan Mitchell duel that we forgot that the Nuggs came back from a 3-1 deficit against Utah. They would be the first team to come back from two 3-1 deficits in the same playoff season. In fact, it’s only been done 12 times overall in playoff history. Maybe the Nuggets are just better when their backs are against the wall. Clearly, the Clips haven’t done a great job closing them out.
Anyway, the moment of truth is on Tuesday night. I’ve said that Game 7s can unfairly change reputations and legacies in sports. We’ll see how this one affects all of them.
Bullet Passes
It’s really too bad because Paul George had a banner Game 6 with 33 points, 6 boards, and 5 steals. Kawhi Leonard himself had 25-8-5. But they missed some makeable shots in that drought. And they never really got going again once the Nuggets got the lead.
After the Houston Rockets loss, Mike D’Antoni chose to walk away from the team and become a coaching free agent. D’Antoni is 69 years old and this is probably his last chance to coach in the NBA, IF someone picks him up. The Sixers might be his next (last) destination; he was Brett Brown‘s assistant before he took the Rockets gig.
I don’t put too much stock over who players follow on Instagram or Twitter. I mean, whatever. Giannis Antetokounmpo can leave Khris Middleton out of his MySpace Top 8 for all I care.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
Game 6: #2 LAC 98 vs #3 DEN 111 (Series is tied at 3-3)
Watch This Play
Watch Murray spin away from Paul George and get the two-handed stuff:
Murray spins around PG and throws it down with two hands 👀 pic.twitter.com/ObkckenPEr
— ESPN (@espn) September 13, 2020
Tuesday will decide who advances to the West Finals! Hope everyone stays safe at the bubble.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.