LA Clippers @ Denver Nuggets
Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO | Game ID: 42400171
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
DEN 27 22 23 26 14 112LAC 35 18 22 23 12 110
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Westbrook fuels Nuggets' comeback to edge Clippers 112-110 in OT in teams' NBA playoff opener
DENVER -- — Russell Westbrook , whose late-game follies hung over the Denver Nuggets as they navigated the stunning dismissals of coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth on the eve of the playoffs, came up clutch against his former team in crunch time Saturday.
“That's who he is,” Nikola Jokic said after watching Westbrook hit an uncontested corner 3-pointer to give Denver a two-point lead late in regulation and then knocking the inbounds pass away from — and off of — James Harden with 9.6 seconds left in overtime to help seal Denver's 112-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I just know that (inbounds) play,” from being there the previous two seasons, Westbrook said.
Westbrook had plenty to do with L.A.'s whopping 20 turnovers, including an uncharacteristic seven from Kawhi Leonard .
“Russ is Russ,” interim coach David Adelman said after improving to 4-0. “Defensively, he's absolutely incredible. He was playing free safety out there. I thought a lot of the reasons why the turnovers happened, even if it wasn't him forcing it, (was) just the way he was roaming around and impacting the game.
“And then offensively ... he attacked," Adelman said. “We maybe could have pulled it out and executed. But that's what Russ does. I don't think he's going to change after 17 years. If he sees somebody in front of him 1-on-1, he's going to attack. And then he made an enormous 3.”
Jokic scored 29 points and finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. Aaron Gordon added 25 points and Jamal Murray 21 as the Nuggets overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to power past the hottest team entering the playoffs.
The No. 5 seed Clippers' loss was their first since March 30 at Cleveland. They rolled into the playoffs having won 18 of 21, including their last eight.
“If you turn over 20 times against the team that is No. 1 in offensive transition, then you’re gonna lose the game,” lamented Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.
Harden led the Clippers with 32 points. Leonard added 22 and Ivica Zubac had 21.
Leonard shrugged off the loss, saying the team’s mood was “still good. Just Game 1. You know, Denver’s a good team, especially at home. Still got Game 2.”
That’s Monday night at Ball Arena.
Adelman said the key to the late comeback was actually when Denver closed the second quarter on a 13-2 run to pull to 53-49 at halftime.
“It felt like one of those games where you’re just slowly crawling uphill,” Adelman said.
And Westbrook was leading the way, coming up big despite missing 12 of 17 shots overall.
“A lot of people put a lot of emphasis on missing so many shots,” Westbrook said. “But in the playoffs, all you need to do is just win the game. I don't give a damn about how many shots you miss, make. Just make winning basketball plays defensively, offensively.”
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LACBB B. Bogdanović
BS B. Simmons
DJ D. Jones Jr.
IZ I. Zubac
JH J. Harden
KD K. Dunn
KL K. Leonard
NB N. Batum
NP N. Powell
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
JM J. Murray
JP J. Pickett
JO Jokic
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RW R. Westbrook
LAC/DEN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur