INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2014 A year ago in Minnesota, the Nuggets squandered their chance to close out a playoff series with a convincing absence of urgency. They lost by 45. They tempted fate, and fate crushed them in Game 7 back home.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re gonna look back at that, use it as a lesson learned,\u201d Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said Thursday. \u201cBut this is now. This is a different team that we\u2019re competing against.\u201d<\/p>\n
The overall Game 6 performance wasn\u2019t as feeble this time, but the result is the same: a Game 7 on Saturday at Ball Arena after Denver\u2019s 111-105 loss to the Clippers.<\/p>\n
James Harden and Kawhi Leonard embraced the occasion at Intuit Dome, and the Nuggets couldn\u2019t overcome a resilient performance from their hosts with a late push. Down 15 with six minutes to go, they clawed back. But Russell Westbrook missed a transition layup that would\u2019ve cut it to four, and Norman Powell punished him with 1:47 left, his corner 3-pointer giving Los Angeles just enough insurance.<\/p>\n
Harden bounced back from his dismal Game 5 with 28 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Leonard went for 27 and 10 on 11-of-22 shooting. The Clippers turned 14 Denver turnovers into 23 points.<\/p>\n
Nikola Jokic scored 20 of his 25 points before halftime, being rendered ineffective afterward. Jamal Murray went for 21 points, eight boards and eight assists. Michael Porter Jr. \u2014 a team-best plus-34 in Game 5 \u2014 fluctuated wildly in the other direction as a minus-24. Adelman closed with Westbrook over him.<\/p>\n
The Wall was not ready to give up hope. Intuit Dome\u2019s baseline section for devoted fans was stocked with horse balloons, the latest creative gimmick targeted at Jokic\u2019s free throws. One fan shouted at him during his warm-up routine that he would miss all his shots in Game 6 because \u201cI wasn\u2019t here before, but I am now, sucker!\u201d Jokic acknowledged his heckler with a laugh.<\/p>\n
He tried to give the crowd every opportunity to use those balloons, but the Clippers\u2019 interior defense and the officiating crew\u2019s leniency refused to parade him to the charity stripe. Jokic kept attacking close-outs on the 3-point line, only to dribble into fender-benders in the paint. Ivica Zubac and a crowd of Clippers stood him up at the rim repeatedly during a four-minute scoreless stretch for Denver in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
Dribbling too much was a theme of the drought, which started in an airtight 68-66 contest. Aaron Gordon turned the ball over in isolation against Powell, who scored 11 points of his own in the third. Murray danced with a defender for too long then passed into a 24-second violation \u2014 the second time he was guilty of losing track of the shot clock on the evening. Jokic passed up 3s.<\/p>\n
By the end of a 12-0 run, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was foaming at the mouth in his court-side seat, and the Nuggets were left to regroup, not just for the fourth quarter but the seventh game.<\/p>\n
But first, they made Ballmer sweat. Christian Braun made a pair of clutch free throws \u2014 his back to The Wall \u2014 then stymied Harden on a drive to get a stop. The Nuggets were out and running in transition, down 110-105, and the ball found Jokic open on the left wing. They would need a 3-pointer eventually to complete a comeback. But Jokic passed another one up, driving into Zubac instead. He was denied once more.<\/p>\n