On Saturday morning, Coloradans will wake up with pterodactyls in their stomachs. In their lives as sports fans, there has rarely been a weekend quite like this one.
Game 7. Two of them. Starting at virtually the same time, a queasy scenario that will make fingernails fret and Pepto-Bismol sales spike.
The Nuggets host the Clippers at 5:30 p.m. at Ball Arena. The Avs face the Stars at 6 p.m. at American Airlines Center. The rubber band has no elasticity left.
This is the most exciting, most dramatic way to reach a conclusion in athletics. After nearly two weeks of trading shots, goals and punches, it comes down to four quarters, three periods and two victors.
Fear performs the work of reason.
“This is what I expected, to be honest,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said.
These four teams creating an ultimate situation is not surprising. But one thing is: the selfish move by the TV networks. This marks only the second time an NBA and NHL team from the same city have played a Game 7 on the same day. It happened in 2022 with the Dallas Mavericks and Stars, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Their start times were staggered by 90 minutes to scathing reviews.
Who cares, right? Executives want eyeballs on screens. As many as possible. But putting the Nuggets and Avs together like this? Why not just slap everyone wearing a Colorado jersey across the face?
The lack of respect is insulting, if not disgusting. Is it really that hard to do right by fans of teams who have won two championships over the past three seasons?
The persons responsible should step forward and get clobbered over the head with a frying pan.
Nothing, unfortunately, will change when the games air. Besides, there are other grievances to be heard. With the Nuggets on the brink, Adelman the Interim is learning quickly how to play head games.
Denver’s last memory of a Game 7 is blowing a 20-point lead against Minnesota. Overcoming ugly history is challenging enough. Adelman does not need the referees to make it more difficult. He needled the officials Thursday night after Nikola Jokic finished the 111-105 loss with 25 points and two free throws.
And none came in the second half when the Clippers were clinging to him like Bounce sheets.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum, left, and forward Derrick Jones Jr., right, reach for a rebound along with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
“Nikola gets fouled a lot. I am not sure what was happening. For him to shoot two free throws with the amount of contact that was going on out there was absolutely crazy,” Adelman said. “They put smalls on him and those smalls were allowed to do whatever they wanted. I am really excited for Saturday because we are going to do the same thing with their best players, because if that’s physicality we are allowed to play with, we will react to it and we will go there.”
The Stars don’t have to issue a warning to illustrate Saturday’s serious nature. Their coach, Pete DeBoer, only has to stare across the bench at Avs boss Jared Bednar. Since 2019, he has knocked him out of the playoffs three times in three attempts. DeBoer is also 8-0 in Game 7s. No one is better in NHL history.
This is what makes Saturday so unpredictable and unnerving. The Avs have a team capable of winning the Stanley Cup. But Dallas is a brutal first-round matchup, especially on the road.
The Nuggets are not considered a title contender — teams chasing championships don’t fire the best coach in franchise history with three games left in the regular season — but they are capable of beating the Clippers at home.
“This is what you live for,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
The reality is that is not always the case. Coaches and players talk about wanting this moment, but most shrink in the spotlight. Game 7s are remembered as much for affixing goat horns as securing halos.
Consider the numbers for the Nuggets and Avs’ best players in these taken-to-the-limit knockout games.
Jokic is 3-2, but averages 26 points on 43.1% shooting overall and 20.6% from 3. Jamal Murray has scored 75 points in his last two Game 7s, but has struggled from behind the arc (29.7%) in five contests.
It means a complementary player will be needed to produce an inspiring performance. Aaron Gordon is due after having more fouls than points when the Timberwolves dispatched Denver last spring.
The Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar have encountered their own problems in Game 7s. They have played in a combined seven. And have yet to score a goal. Or win.
Colorado Avalanche players Nathan MacKinnon (29), Cale Makar (8) and Devon Toews (7) line up for the national anthem before a first-round NHL hockey playoff game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
It speaks to the volatility of these contests, of the hopelessly deafening noise, of the unhealthy urgency with every shift, shot and whistle. And why Val Nichushkin, not one of the future Hall of Famers, might be the difference.
The Avs dangled their leg over the cliff on Thursday, surrendering a two-goal lead before regaining their composure in a 7-4 victory. MacKinnon has six goals and 10 points in the series. Makar finally scored. The Avs should have momentum. But the truth is, the odds are stacked against them.
“Our team responded,” Bednar said. “Hopefully, we can do it one more time.”
The pressure is on Bednar to not flinch, to not get outfoxed by DeBoer again.
Adelman, meanwhile, is coaching his 10th game. Lue is in his ninth season.
No excuses. The Nuggets are at home. They are expected to win, squaring off against a Clippers team that will wander into Denver tired and deeper in oxygen debt.
We can talk about life balance, about keeping perspective, about not taking anything too seriously.
But Saturday, logic and patience take a vacation for Colorado sports fans. There are two Game 7s. And nausea, nerves and split screens be damned, let’s enjoy them.
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Originally Published: May 2, 2025 at 10:26 AM MDT