In the first Game 7 of the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets fought an intense battle to keep their season alive. At Ball Arena, the Nuggets had the home crowd and the high altitude serving to their advantage, and they made the most of it with an impressive 120-101 victory to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Clippers took control early on thanks to hot shooting in the first quarter, which gave them a narrow five-point lead. The game took a turn in the second frame, which saw the Nuggets score 37 points to go up by 12. Between the third and fourth quarters, the Nuggets outscored the Clippers by 32 points, and it carried them to the critical Game 7 victory (120-101). The Nuggets will now face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round, which begins on Monday, May 5, at the Paycom Center.
Aaron Gordon was the leading scorer for the Nuggets with 22 points, four rebounds, and five assists on 56.2% shooting. Nikola Jokic, a 3x MVP, put up 16 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists on 42.9% shooting. Christian Braun was the third-leading scorer with 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists on 53.3% shooting.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard was their leading scorer with 22 points, five rebounds, and two assists on 46.2% shooting. Off the bench, Kobe Brown dropped 13 points, zero rebounds, and three assists on 85.7% shooting, while James Harden finished with just seven points, five rebounds, and 13 assists on 25.0% shooting.
In perhaps the most competitive series of the playoffs so far, it could have gone either way between the Clippers and Nuggets tonight. In the end, the Nuggets came out on top, and they got to advance with their championship ambitions still intact. The question now is, can they sustain this success, or will they meet their match against the Thunder in round two?
Balanced Scoring Effort
The Nuggets are at their best when Nikola Jokic is running the show, and they are nearly impossible to beat when the role players are hitting their shots. Tonight, in another fine performance under head coach David Adleman, the cast played their roles to perfection, and the offense was running buttery smooth.
Six Nuggets players scored in double figures, and all five starters scored 15 or more points on at least 42% shooting. Nikola Jokic, who was averaging 29.6 points per game in the regular season, finished with just 16 tonight, but the Nuggets won anyway because of guys like Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Christian Braun, and Russell Westbrook.
Denver shot 52.2% from the field tonight due to great chemistry and a championship culture that has seeped into every part of the organization. Despite the falling out between Michael Malone and Calvin Booth, the Nuggets are seamless right now, and it’s creating an environment where every Nuggets player gets a chance to shine.
James Harden No-Show
After parting with Paul George last summer, the Clippers thought that James Harden would be an appropriate replacement, and he stepped up in the regular season with averages of 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game on 41.0% shooting.
Tonight, however, Harden was held to just seven points, five rebounds, and 13 assists on 25.0% shooting. He was -29 in 35 minutes with two turnovers. Unfortunately, Harden has a history of disastrous playoff performances, and this is another one he can add to the list.
Without Harden’s scoring, the Clippers struggled to keep up with the Nuggets, and it put all the pressure on Kawhi Leonard to carry the load on both ends of the floor. He tried his best to lead his team to victory, but it proved impossible without the support of his teammates and co-star, who didn’t provide nearly enough help to secure the win tonight.
Key Contributors Off The Bench
Everything in Denver revolves around Nikola Jokic, but he wasn’t the only factor in the Nuggets’ victory tonight. In fact, two key players changed the game for the Nuggets and helped them secure the series: Peyton Watson and Russell Westbrook.
Watson, 22, was drafted 30th overall in 2022, and his minutes have been gradually increasing for the Nuggets. He emerged as a regular rotation player this season, and he was huge for the Nuggets in this close-out game with nine points and four rebounds on 100% shooting. As his confidence builds, Watson’s defense will become increasingly impactful, and his shooting will add an extra spark off the bench.
Westbrook has a complicated history in the NBA, but he’s found his place in Denver. Tonight, he scored 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals as the sixth man and was making play after play for the Nuggets both with Jokic and without him.
It was a total team effort for the Nuggets tonight, and they got major contributions from some unexpected sources. If they can maintain that consistency and carry that momentum into the next round, it will go a long way toward completing the upset win against the Thunder. For now, the only focus for the Nuggets is on their next game, which is in just two days in hostile territory.
