- Share via
Tyronn Lue made sure to call every player, a move the Clippers coach said was necessary to check the “temperature” of his team before its biggest game of the season.
Lue refused to text his players in a group message because he wanted to “hear their voices” and encourage them before playing in a win-or-go-home Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets.
His players responded and delivered in a 111-105 win at the Intuit Dome on Thursday night.
“Got a great temperature,” Lue said. “Took a lot of temperatures in the last 36 hours.”
Lue’s two stars are reticent, but James Harden and Kawhi Leonard spoke volumes with their play in forcing a Game 7 in Denver on Saturday night.
Jamal Murray scored 43 points for Denver, which routed the Clippers and took a 3-2 lead in best-of-seven series.
Harden had 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds. He played 46 minutes 35 seconds after being criticized for his subpar play in Games 4 and 5.
Harden said he was “tired a little bit” but didn’t see the criticism “at all.”
“Tonight the game plan was more for me to be in attack mode and making sure our spacing was right,” Harden said. “And as a result, you know, I’ll be aggressive.”
Leonard had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Norman Powell added 24 points.
“He usually does that,” Leonard said about Lue calling players. “It was nothing new. Like during the season, winning steaks or losing streaks, he’s calling us just to see what we feel with the lineup and getting insight of how we should play defensively with matchups or whatever is really working for the player. He’s pretty good at that.”
The Clippers opened a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter on a Bogdan Bogdanovic three-pointer with 5:57 left. But that lead was sliced to 107-101, forcing the Clippers to call a timeout with 2:43 left.
The Clippers didn’t score out of the timeout but got a break when Russell Westbrook missed a fast-break layup, and Powell made a three. The Nuggets weren’t done, though, as Aaron Gordon scored and Christian Braun made two free throws with 58.5 seconds left to cut the lead to 110-105.
It remained precarious for the Clippers after Harden turned the ball over, but Nikola Jokic (25 points, eight assists, seven rebounds) had his layup blocked by Ivica Zubac, and the Clippers got the ball back. Leonard made one of two free throws with 18.8 seconds left, and the Clippers’ defense did the rest.
“It’s win or go home,” Harden said. “And we still had some mistakes tonight, but I think our energy defensively and even offensively, our aggressiveness was different, which starts with me. So, watch some film, get better, figure out things that I can continue to get better at, do it one more game.”
Lue said he considered making a change to his starting lineup but decided against it. That was until the start of the second half, when Lue started Nicolas Batum in place of Kris Dunn.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard expected a battle against the Denver Nuggets, and he’s getting one as the first-round playoff series shifts back to Denver.
The 6-foot-9 Batum gave the Clippers more size and consistent outside shooting. And right on cue Batum struck early, drilling a three-pointer to open the third.
Batum played another of his typical all-around games, finishing with six points, six assists, five rebounds and three blocks.
“He [Lue] just told me after halftime, ‘Nico, you’re starting,’” Batum said. “So, I have to do my job. That’s it.”
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
