Game ID: 42400176
Denver Nuggets @ LA Clippers
Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 10:00 PM ET
Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 25 33 32 21 111DEN 28 29 22 26 105
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 4/21 · 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 4/21 · 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
DEN availability going into 5/05 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 12 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 4/24 after 2, 5 min since (27% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/24 after 2, 3 min since (28% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 38 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 13 since 4/04, out tonight
NEW Murray 37 to 43 min over the last 5
NEW Braun 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Gordon 30 to 39 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 14 since 4/04, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 36 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 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.
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 99-101 — LAC notes
LAC lost 99-101. LAC shot 44% (39 of 88) to DEN's 46%, 10 of 30 from three. Leonard led with 24 (10 of 22, 2 of 5 from three); Powell added 22, Zubac 19. Q4 was theirs, 34-16, the deficit cut from 20 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 85-65 against them. Dunn's -12 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/29 @ DEN 115-131 — LAC notes
LAC lost 115-131. LAC shot 52% (43 of 82) to DEN's 56%, 11 of 29 from three. Zubac led with 27 (11 of 15, 5 of 8 at the line); Leonard added 20, Bogdanović 18. Q2 was theirs, 36-32, the deficit cut from 12 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 99-79 against them. Harden's -16 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/01 vs DEN 111-105 — LAC notes
LAC won 111-105. LAC shot 50% (43 of 86) to DEN's 52%, 12 of 39 from three, and went to the line 15 times to DEN's 9 — 13 points from the stripe to their 6. LAC turned it over 7 times to DEN's 12. Harden led with 28 (10 of 20, 3 of 8 from three); Leonard added 27, Powell 24. The hinge was Q3, 32-22: a lead of 1 became 11, and the lead reached 15. Leonard was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
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.
4/21 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 101-99 — DEN notes
DEN won 101-99. DEN shot 46% (40 of 87) to LAC's 44%, 10 of 29 from three. Jokić led with 36 (14 of 25, 3 of 6 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Braun added 17, Porter Jr. 17. The hinge was Q3, 35-17: a lead of 2 became 20.
4/29 vs LAC 131-115 — DEN notes
DEN won 131-115. DEN shot 56% (48 of 86) to LAC's 52%, 17 of 33 from three. Murray led with 43 (17 of 26, 8 of 14 from three); Gordon added 23, Westbrook 21. The hinge was Q1, 35-23: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 22. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
5/01 @ LAC 105-111 — DEN notes
DEN lost 105-111. DEN shot 52% (44 of 84) to LAC's 50%, 11 of 27 from three, and got to the line 9 times to LAC's 15. DEN turned it over 12 times to LAC's 7, and LAC turned those into 9 steals. Jokić led with 25 (11 of 22, 2 of 4 from three); Murray added 21, Gordon 19. Q4 was theirs, 26-21, the deficit cut from 11 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 90-79 against them. Porter Jr.'s -24 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
5/05 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 100, shooting 45 percent and 29 from three, 25 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 8 days' rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Murray at 23 and Jokić at 23 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, Denver at 39 percent from three to OKC's 29 and the line, where OKC takes 25 free throws a game to Denver's 18. Call it OKC 117, Denver 108.
5/07 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 25 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 29 and Jal. Williams at 22 a game. One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-8 a night and OKC minus-2 and the arc, Denver at 39 percent from three to OKC's 32. Call it OKC 118, Denver 110.
5/09 vs OKC — 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 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 24 free throws a game; Murray at 23 and Jokić at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 30 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-6 a night and OKC minus-3 and the turnovers, Denver giving it away 14 times a game to OKC's 9. Call it OKC 118, Denver 115, Denver keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LACBB B. Bogdanović
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
DJ D. Jordan
JM J. Murray
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
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
James Harden scores 28 points and Clippers force Game 7 with a gritty 111-105 win over Nuggets
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- — With the Los Angeles Clippers' season on the brink, Tyronn Lue took the unusual step of checking in with several players by phone on their off day. The coach said he “took a lot of temperatures,” making sure they were mentally ready to fight for their playoff lives.
In Game 6, the Clippers answered his call.
James Harden had 28 points and eight assists in an outstanding bounce-back performance, Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and the Clippers forced a seventh game in their first-round NBA playoff series with a 111-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
Norman Powell scored 24 points for the Clippers, who rebounded from back-to-back losses with an impressive effort at new Intuit Dome. Los Angeles took control in the second half while playing tenacious defense on Nikola Jokic , who scored 20 of his 25 points in the first half.
“I give our guys credit for just staying with it,” Lue said. “(They) don’t get deflated, and we did a good job. ... I told the guys after the game, it’s about being a team and whatever it takes to win. Those guys totally understood it.”
Game 7 is Saturday in Denver.
Jamal Murray scored 21 points for the Nuggets, who lost a potential series-clinching playoff game for the fourth time in five tries over the past two seasons since their 2023 championship run. Denver also blew a 3-2 series lead over Minnesota in the second round last season.
The Nuggets haven’t won a Game 7 since 2020, when they ousted the Clippers from the conference semifinals in the Florida bubble.
“They were quicker to the punch,” Murray said. “They played with a lot more desperation because their backs were against the wall, and you’ve got to give them credit. The whole game, they brought it.”
The Clippers were pushed to this comeback win by the 35-year-old Harden, who played aggressively and craftily after receiving criticism for a passive effort in Game 5 . Leonard also stepped up, with the two-time NBA champion adding 10 rebounds and five assists in an assertive outing.
“It was win or go home, so there were opportunities to be aggressive, and I took them,” Harden said. “One more game. ... We didn't want to go home. We've got one more game left.”
Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum teamed up for a surprisingly effective defensive effort on the typically unguardable Jokic. The three-time MVP was held scoreless for 11 minutes in the third quarter and went only 2 for 9 in the second half.
Los Angeles led by 15 with less than six minutes to play, but Denver made an 11-2 run to trim the Clippers’ lead to 107-101 before Powell buried a 3-pointer with 1:47 left.
Powell’s clutch bucket was Los Angeles’ only field goal in the final 5:57, but the Clips hung on with defense. Russell Westbrook missed a layup under pressure and had another layup blocked on consecutive possessions in the final minutes, and Zubac blocked a layup attempt by Jokic with 24 seconds left.