The Los Angeles Clippers are one win away from reaching the conference finals after defeating the Denver Nuggets 96-85 on Wednesday at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was one assist shy of a triple-double with 30 points on 10-of-22 shooting, 11 rebounds and nine dimes. He added four steals and two blocks.
L.A. outscored Denver 26-12 in the first quarter but saw its eight-point halftime lead quickly evaporate when Denver opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run. However, the Clips defense largely shut down the Denver offense from that point forward on a night where the Nuggets shot just 39.7 percent from the field.
The Clippers, who took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, have not made the conference finals in franchise history, which dates back to the team's debut as the Buffalo Braves in 1970.
Notable Performances
Nuggets C Nikola Jokic: 26 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists
Nuggets G Jamal Murray: 18 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds
Nuggets F Michael Porter Jr.: 15 points, 6 rebounds
Clippers F Kawhi Leonard: 30 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks
Clippers F Paul George: 10 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds
Clippers F/C Montrezl Harrell: 15 points, 2 rebounds
Kawhi Leonard Dominates Denver
Kawhi Leonard had as many or more points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals than any Clipper or Nugget on the court Wednesday.
Afterward, one would be hard-pressed to find a more dominant two-way performance from any individual player in this year's playoffs.
His effort is made more impressive considering that the underdog Nuggets have shown fight in this series, winning Game 2 and coming close to doing the same in Game 3.
However, Denver's season is on the brink largely because of Leonard, who displayed an excellent effort on both ends as exhibited by his many highlights from the evening.
On offense, Leonard pretty much did whatever he wanted in the first half with 17 points before halftime in a game where neither team hit 50 by the break:
NBA @NBAKawhi puts in 17 PTS as LAC leads at the break on ESPN! #NBAPlayoffs @LAClippers 48 @nuggets 40 Michael Porter Jr: 15 PTS, 3 3PM Jokic: 12 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST https://t.co/8p5QbFEi3E
His excellent court vision set up his teammates for easy buckets, and he also took care of business from mid-range as well:
NBA @NBAKlaw doing it all. #NBAPlayoffs 📺: ESPN https://t.co/tFHMEkXhWI
Leonard blocked this Torrey Craig shot from out of nowhere:
LA Clippers @LAClippersKawhi got five on it. 🖐🏾 https://t.co/lCzMBomvsT
And he turned great defense into a bucket after this steal and dish to Lou Williams for two:
LA Clippers @LAClippers.@kawhileonard with the steal, and @TeamLou23 seals the deal. 📺 @espn https://t.co/B4ghTWPNNT
Leonard's night continues an incredible postseason performance:
StatMuse @statmuseKawhi Leonard this playoffs (10 games): 29.2 PPG 9.8 RPG 5.7 APG 2.3 SPG 51.5 FG% https://t.co/MM5iRr396I
The two-time NBA Finals MVP always turns it up a notch for the playoffs, where he's proved to be near-unstoppable at times.
This year has been no exception, and that's a big problem for the rest of the league's remaining teams as Leonard looks for his third NBA title.
Clips Shut Down Murray; Nuggets' Supporting Cast Has Quiet Night
Jamal Murray's scoring wizardry has played a large part in the Nuggets earning the Western Conference's No. 3 seed and reaching the Western Conference Semifinals for the second straight season.
His efforts were most valuable in the first round of the 2020 playoffs against the Utah Jazz, when Murray posted 31.6 points per game and dropped 50 twice and 42 on another occasion.
It's been a different story in the second round, though, as the Clippers team defense has largely been successful in preventing Murray from going off.
The former Kentucky star did score 27 points in Game 2, but he's averaged just 14.7 points on 34.0 percent shooting otherwise against Denver.
Wednesday night continued the trend exhibited for much of the second round, with Murray struggling to get any clean shots off in a 6-of-15 night. He did dish seven assists but also committed a game-high four turnovers.
After the game, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone told reporters that the Clips were "dogging and hounding" Murray and that he had to help his star point guard get open. He also bemoaned the lack of "offensive rhythm or flow" and noted that his players were frustrated.
The point guard's shot may be off, but as Malone said, the Clippers are keying in on him. As Malone said again, it's up to him to get Murray more looks, but it's imperative that other Nuggets not named Nikola Jokic and Murray step up.
That's happened, though, and it did in droves in the first half when Michael Porter Jr. dropped 15 points and helped keep Denver in a low-scoring game.
But Porter barely touched the ball in the second half, scoring zero points and taking two shots. He presented his opinion on the matter postgame.
"I didn't touch the ball," Porter told reporters on his second half. "They didn't do anything [different]."
Porter added more context after a question asking what he can do to get more touches: "It's up to the play calls, it's up to the coaches. We kept going to [Jokic and Murray]. They're two amazing players. You can't be mad at that." Porter then said the team needed to get others involved to take down the Clips.
All Nuggets not named Porter, Murray or Jokic combined for five made field goals, with no player having more than two.
Right now, the Denver offense is in a position where Murray and/or Jokic need to go off for the Nuggets to have a chance to win. That must change going forward, as Porter said. Players like himself, Gary Harris and Paul Millsap have proved to be those solid complementary pieces in the past.
The question is whether Malone and the coaching staff can alleviate the problems before it is too late.
What's Next?
The Clippers will look to close the series Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET, with TNT televising the action.
Game 6, if necessary, will take place Sunday, and Game 7 would occur Tuesday.
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Kawhi Leonard Flirts with Triple-Double as Clippers Defeat Nuggets in Game 4 - Bleacher Report
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