Denver Nuggets @ LA Clippers
Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM ET
Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA | Game ID: 42400173
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 35 30 25 27 117DEN 28 19 23 13 83
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Leonard and Harden lead Clippers to easy 117-83 win over Jokic and Nuggets for a 2-1 series lead
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- — After two close games to open the playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers came home and had their way with the Denver Nuggets .
Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 117-83 victory Thursday night that gave the Clippers a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
“It ain't over because we had a blowout,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “We got to come and validate that.”
James Harden and Norman Powell added 20 points apiece in the first playoff game at the new Intuit Dome , where Clippers superfans sitting in The Wall section closest to Denver's bench wore horse hats mocking Jokic's love of the animal.
“It was crackin,’ it was loud. Just how I expected it to be,” Harden said. “That's one of the reasons why we jumped out to a huge lead.”
After the teams split the first two games in Denver — a pair of nail-biters decided by a combined five points — this one wasn't close after the first quarter. Both teams cleared their benches in the final 4 1/2 minutes.
“The first two games were very competitive. This game was not,” interim Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “But you can come back Saturday and you can right a lot of wrongs.”
Game 4 is Saturday at the flashy and tech-heavy Inglewood arena, the dream creation of Clippers billionaire owner Steve Ballmer. He animatedly clapped his hands and pumped his fist from his seat near his team's bench.
Jokic led the Nuggets with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his second triple-double of the series. Jamal Murray also had 23 points.
“Bottom line, this was not good enough. This was not our standard in any way," Adelman said. “Defensively, we have to meet them much better than we did tonight and I expect we will.”
Denver led by seven early before the Clippers took a 20-point lead in the second quarter and tightened up their defense.
The Clippers outscored the Nuggets 23-2 over the end of the first quarter and start of the second, with Harden scoring 11 points.
Murray and Jokic combined to score 16 points in the third, when the Nuggets trailed 90-70.
The Clippers hit 18 3-pointers to seven for Denver. They controlled the boards, 48-38, and their bench outscored the Nuggets' reserves, 31-6.
“Everybody contributed. It was a great game for us all,” Leonard said. “Denver’s a great team. They’ve bene here before. We got to still stay focused and play together and come out with a great mindset Saturday.”
Denver's Russell Westbrook , who missed 4 of 5 from long range, left the game with left foot inflammation in the second half. Michael Porter Jr ., who sprained his left shoulder in Game 2, was limited to seven points and six rebounds.
There were reminders of the Clippers' old Lob City era in their new building. Former Clipper Chris Paul was in the stands along with Patrick Beverley wearing a Zubac jersey, while DeAndre Jordan played five minutes for the Nuggets.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LACBB B. Bogdanović
BS B. Simmons
CC C. Christie
DE D. Eubanks
DJ D. Jones Jr.
IZ I. Zubac
JH J. Harden
JM J. Miller
KB K. Brown
KD K. Dunn
KL K. Leonard
NB N. Batum
NP N. Powell
PM P. Mills
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
DJ D. Jordan
HT H. Tyson
JM J. Murray
JP J. Pickett
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RW R. Westbrook
ZN Z. Nnaji
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