Game ID: 42400173
Denver Nuggets @ LA Clippers
Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM ET
Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 35 30 25 27 117DEN 28 19 23 13 83
DEN @ LAC ScoutingDEN @ LAC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
LAC availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restOUT Coffey missed 6 since 3/31, out tonight
BACK Miller back 4/05 after 11, 3 min since (28% of 11)
LAC availability going into 4/13 · 1 day's restOUT Coffey missed 7 since 3/31, returns tonight: 4 min (16% of 24)
BACK Miller back 4/05 after 11, 3 min since (28% of 11)
LAC availability going into 4/19 · 5 days' restOUT Batum missed 2 since 4/11, returns tonight: 24 min (132% of 18)
OUT Miller missed 2 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK Coffey back 4/13 after 7, 4 min since (16% of 24)
NEW Leonard 33 to 38 min over the last 4
LAC availability going into 4/21 · 1 day's restOUT Miller missed 3 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK Coffey back 4/13 after 7, 4 min since (16% of 24)
BACK Batum back 4/19 after 2, 24 min since (132% of 18)
NEW Harden 36 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Zubac 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Leonard 33 to 42 min over the last 4
NEW Powell 33 to 40 min over the last 4
NEW Dunn 24 to 29 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Coffey missed 2 since 4/19, out tonight
OUT Miller missed 4 since 4/11, returns tonight: 4 min (34% of 11)
BACK Batum back 4/19 after 2, 21 min since (116% of 18)
NEW Harden 36 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Zubac 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Leonard 33 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Dunn 24 to 30 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restOUT Coffey missed 3 since 4/19, out tonight
BACK Batum back 4/19 after 2, 23 min since (126% of 18)
BACK Miller back 4/24 after 4, 4 min since (34% of 11)
NEW Harden 36 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Zubac 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Leonard 33 to 41 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 4/29 · 2 days' restOUT Coffey missed 4 since 4/19, out tonight
BACK Batum back 4/19 after 2, 22 min since (121% of 18)
BACK Miller back 4/24 after 4, 4 min since (34% of 11)
NEW Harden 36 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Zubac 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Leonard 33 to 40 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Coffey missed 5 since 4/19, out tonight
BACK Batum back 4/19 after 2, 22 min since (121% of 18)
BACK Miller back 4/24 after 4, 3 min since (29% of 11)
NEW Zubac 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Leonard 33 to 38 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 5/03 · 1 day's restOUT Coffey missed 6 since 4/19, out tonight
BACK Miller back 4/24 after 4, 3 min since (29% of 11)
NEW Leonard 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 6 since 3/28, returns tonight: 32 min (85% of 37)
OUT Šarić missed 3 since 4/04, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 2 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 4/04 after 2, 38 min since (115% of 33)
BACK Strawther back 4/04 after 16, 8 min since (38% of 20)
NEW Braun 35 to 42 min over the last 4
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 4
NEW Watson 23 to 31 min over the last 4
NEW Pickett 13 to 29 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/13 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 4 since 4/04, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 3 since 4/06, returns tonight: 6 min (63% of 10)
BACK Murray back 4/11 after 6, 32 min since (85% of 37)
BACK Porter Jr. back 4/04 after 2, 36 min since (108% of 33)
BACK Strawther back 4/04 after 16, 8 min since (38% of 20)
NEW Gordon 30 to 36 min over the last 4
NEW Pickett 13 to 25 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/19 · 5 days' restOUT Šarić missed 5 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/11 after 6, 28 min since (76% of 37)
BACK Porter Jr. back 4/04 after 2, 35 min since (104% of 33)
BACK Strawther back 4/04 after 16, 8 min since (41% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/13 after 3, 6 min since (63% of 10)
NEW Pickett 13 to 22 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/21 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 6 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/11 after 6, 35 min since (94% of 37)
BACK Nnaji back 4/13 after 3, 6 min since (63% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Pickett 13 to 18 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Strawther missed 2 since 4/19, returns tonight: 11 min (55% of 20)
OUT Šarić missed 7 since 4/04, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 2 since 4/19, returns tonight: 5 min (45% of 10)
BACK Murray back 4/11 after 6, 37 min since (99% of 37)
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 8 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/11 after 6, 37 min since (99% of 37)
BACK Strawther back 4/24 after 2, 11 min since (55% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/13 after 3, 6 min since (54% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/29 · 2 days' restOUT Šarić missed 9 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 4/24 after 2, 11 min since (55% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/13 after 3, 6 min since (54% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 10 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 4/24 after 2, 6 min since (32% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/24 after 2, 3 min since (32% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 39 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/03 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 11 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 4/24 after 2, 6 min since (32% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/24 after 2, 3 min since (32% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 38 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 110, shooting 52 percent and 42 from three, 17 free throws a game; Harden at 29 and Leonard at 29 a game. Without Coffey (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 28 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Gordon at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Strawther (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the line, where Denver takes 28 free throws a game to the Clippers' 17 and the glass, where Denver has been plus-7 a night and the Clippers minus-0. Call it the Clippers 115, Denver 112, Denver keeping it close.
4/11 @ SAC 101-100 — LAC notes
LAC won 101-100. LAC shot 51% (40 of 78) to SAC's 44%, 7 of 21 from three. Leonard led with 28 (10 of 21, 2 of 3 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Harden added 23, Zubac 17. The hinge was Q2, 26-20: LAC came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 1. Zubac was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
4/13 @ GSW 124-119 — LAC notes
LAC won 124-119 in 1 overtime. LAC shot 56% (48 of 86) to GSW's 54%, 14 of 30 from three. The glass went 42-25 for them. Harden led with 39 (13 of 23, 5 of 8 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Leonard added 33, Zubac 22. The hinge was Q2, 35-25: LAC came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 2. Leonard was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
4/19 @ DEN 110-112 — LAC notes
LAC lost 110-112 in 1 overtime. LAC shot 50% (43 of 86) to DEN's 44%, 12 of 33 from three, and got to the line 16 times to DEN's 27. LAC turned it over 20 times to DEN's 11, and DEN turned those into 11 steals. Harden led with 32 (11 of 22, 4 of 9 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Leonard added 22, Zubac 21. Q1 was theirs, 35-27, but the other 4 periods went 85-75 against them. They led by as many as 15.
4/21 @ DEN 105-102 — LAC notes
LAC won 105-102. LAC shot 48% (41 of 85) to DEN's 47%, 13 of 34 from three, and got to the line 12 times to DEN's 22. LAC turned it over 11 times to DEN's 20. The glass went 32-50 against them. Leonard led with 39 (15 of 19, 4 of 7 from three); Harden added 18, Zubac 16. The hinge was Q2, 30-21: LAC came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 3. Powell was the night's best plus/minus at +8.
4/24 vs DEN 117-83 — LAC notes
LAC won 117-83. LAC shot 48% (40 of 83) to DEN's 40%, 18 of 39 from three, and went to the line 28 times to DEN's 20 — 19 points from the stripe to their 14. LAC turned it over 10 times to DEN's 16. The glass went 48-38 for them. Leonard led with 21 (7 of 17, 3 of 6 from three); Harden added 20, Powell 20. The hinge was Q4, 27-13: a lead of 20 became 34. Harden was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
4/26 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 103, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Leonard at 29 and Harden at 26 a game. Without Coffey (3 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Gordon at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 41 percent from three to Denver's 33 and the line, where Denver takes 26 free throws a game to the Clippers' 18. Call it the Clippers 114, Denver 109.
4/29 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 108, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 19 a game. 2 days' rest. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 103, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Leonard at 28 and Harden at 25 a game. Without Coffey (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 40 percent from three to Denver's 35 and the line, where Denver takes 23 free throws a game to the Clippers' 18. Call it the Clippers 111, Denver 110, Denver keeping it close.
5/01 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Leonard at 25 and Zubac at 20 a game. Without Coffey (5 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Murray at 25 a game. One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-3 a night and the Clippers minus-3. Call it the Clippers 113, Denver 109, Denver keeping it close.
5/03 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Murray at 25 a game. One day's rest. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 104, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Leonard at 26 and Harden at 18 a game. Without Coffey (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-3 a night and the Clippers minus-3 and the turnovers, Denver giving it away 14 times a game to the Clippers' 9. Call it the Clippers 111, Denver 110, Denver keeping it close.
4/11 vs MEM 117-109 — DEN notes
DEN won 117-109. DEN shot 48% (44 of 91) to MEM's 45%, 5 of 24 from three, and went to the line 31 times to MEM's 19 — 24 points from the stripe to their 13. The glass went 52-41 for them. Gordon led with 33 (13 of 23, 2 of 7 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Jokić added 26, Murray 15. The hinge was Q4, 25-14: DEN came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 8. DEN trailed 53-59 at the half and won the second half 64-50. Braun was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
4/13 @ HOU 126-111 — DEN notes
DEN won 126-111. DEN shot 51% (45 of 88) to HOU's 45%, 10 of 29 from three, and went to the line 31 times to HOU's 14 — 26 points from the stripe to their 9. Porter Jr. led with 19 (8 of 12, 3 of 6 from three); Jokić added 18, Gordon 18. The hinge was Q3, 37-19: a lead of 13 became 31, and the lead reached 36. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
4/19 vs LAC 112-110 — DEN notes
DEN won 112-110 in 1 overtime. DEN shot 44% (41 of 94) to LAC's 50%, 9 of 27 from three, and went to the line 27 times to LAC's 16 — 21 points from the stripe to their 12. DEN turned it over 11 times to LAC's 20. Jokić led with 29 (12 of 24, 1 of 4 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Gordon added 25, Murray 21. The hinge was Q2, 22-18: the deficit went from 8 to 4. DEN trailed 49-53 at the half and won the second half 63-57. Murray was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
4/21 vs LAC 102-105 — DEN notes
DEN lost 102-105. DEN shot 47% (37 of 79) to LAC's 48%, 14 of 32 from three, and went to the line 22 times to LAC's 12 — 14 points from the stripe to their 10. DEN turned it over 20 times to LAC's 11, and LAC turned those into 13 steals. The glass went 50-32 for them. Jokić led with 26 (8 of 16, 4 of 8 from three, 6 of 10 at the line); Murray added 23, Porter Jr. 15. Q1 was theirs, 31-25, but the other 3 periods went 80-71 against them. Westbrook's -7 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/24 @ LAC 83-117 — DEN notes
DEN lost 83-117. DEN shot 40% (31 of 77) to LAC's 48%, 7 of 26 from three, and got to the line 20 times to LAC's 28. DEN turned it over 16 times to LAC's 10. The glass went 38-48 against them. Jokić led with 23 (9 of 14, 2 of 3 from three); Murray added 23, Gordon 15. Q3 was theirs, 23-25, but the other 3 periods went 92-60 against them. Watson's -29 in 18 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/26 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 103, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Leonard at 29 and Harden at 26 a game. Without Coffey (3 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Gordon at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 41 percent from three to Denver's 33 and the line, where Denver takes 26 free throws a game to the Clippers' 18. Call it the Clippers 114, Denver 109.
4/29 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 108, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 19 a game. 2 days' rest. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 103, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Leonard at 28 and Harden at 25 a game. Without Coffey (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 40 percent from three to Denver's 35 and the line, where Denver takes 23 free throws a game to the Clippers' 18. Call it the Clippers 111, Denver 110, Denver keeping it close.
5/01 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Leonard at 25 and Zubac at 20 a game. Without Coffey (5 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Murray at 25 a game. One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-3 a night and the Clippers minus-3. Call it the Clippers 113, Denver 109, Denver keeping it close.
5/03 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Murray at 25 a game. One day's rest. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 104, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Leonard at 26 and Harden at 18 a game. Without Coffey (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-3 a night and the Clippers minus-3 and the turnovers, Denver giving it away 14 times a game to the Clippers' 9. Call it the Clippers 111, Denver 110, Denver keeping it close.
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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
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.