The Los Angeles Clippers aren’t done yet – facing elimination in front of a packed Intuit Dome, the Clippers leaned on James Harden’s 28-point bounce-back performance and Kawhi Leonard’s steady 27-point night to edge the Denver Nuggets 111-105 in a tense Game 6.
With the series now tied 3-3, everything comes down to a high-stakes Game 7 this Saturday in Denver.
Harden looked like a different player after a quiet Game 5, attacking early and often, while also dishing out eight assists. Leonard, meanwhile, added 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a classic all-around showing. Norman Powell poured in 24 off the bench, including a clutch three-pointer in the final minutes that helped Los Angeles survive a late Denver rally.
“Win or go home, simple as that,” Harden said after the game. “We didn’t want to go home. Now we’ve got one more.”
The Clippers were up by 15 with under six minutes to go, but the defending champions wouldn’t go away. Denver went on an 11-2 run, cutting the lead to just six before Powell’s dagger three stopped the bleeding.
It was the only field goal LA made in the final 5:57, but their defense came through when it mattered. Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum helped contain Nikola Jokic, holding the three-time MVP to just 5 points in the second half. Zubac’s block on Jokic with 24 seconds remaining sealed the deal.
“We just stayed together,” said Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. “It was about being a team and doing whatever it takes to win. Our guys got the message.”
The loss continues a frustrating trend for Denver. The Nuggets have now failed to close out four of their last five playoff series when leading 3-2. Their last Game 7 win came back in 2020, ironically, against the Clippers in the Orlando bubble.
Jokic finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but his impact faded late. Jamal Murray chipped in 21, yet Denver struggled to find rhythm when it mattered most. After riding the momentum of their Game 5 win and a buzzer-beating dunk by Aaron Gordon in Game 4, they simply couldn’t deliver the knockout punch.
Game 7 now shifts to Ball Arena, where the Nuggets will try to avoid another early playoff exit, and the Clippers will look to rewrite their postseason story.
