‘We got to move on’: Clippers look to rebound against Nuggets in critical Game 5
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Game 5 is a pivotal contest for the Clippers and the Denver Nuggets.
Pivotal because the winner in a series that’s tied at 2-2 will be one win away from advancing in the Western Conference playoffs.
Pivotal because the loser will be one loss away from their season being over.
Pivotal because the team that wins Game 5 and subsequently takes a 3-2 lead in the series has gone on to win the series 81.3% of the time, according to the NBA.
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.
So for the Clippers, this fifth game is about tilting the odds back in their favor and the only way to do that is to win Game 5 in Denver on Tuesday night.
“That means it’s an important game,” Clippers center Ivica Zubac said after practice Monday. “Every one of them is important. But in a mini-series, a best-of-three, you for sure want to get the next one. So, you want to get a Game 5 for sure. It’s a very important game. But I’ve been in a series where we were 2-2, we lost Game 5 and we still came back and won in seven. So, just got to win two.”
Zubac was talking about when the Clippers lost the first two games to the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs in 2021, won the next two to tie the series, lost Game 5, but won the next two games to win the series 4-3. That Clippers group just happened to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history.
As for the current Clippers team, Zubac said: “There’s been a sense of urgency. Nothing changed for us. Best-of-seven. Best-of-five. Best-of-three. Whatever. We got to win four games.”
The Clippers have won in Denver during this series, taking Game 2 and stealing the home-court advantage away from the Nuggets — only to give it back in a dramatic Game 4 loss.
Three of the four games have been decided by three points or less, so one would think the Game 5 will be even more intense than the others.
Denver reclaimed home-court advantage in the playoff series after several players nearly came to blows before halftime and a furious, late rally by the Clippers.
“You would think so, but I haven’t really looked at it and said Game 5 is something different,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after practice Monday. “But all these games are the same. Like, you got to be ready to compete from the start. You got to have an attack mentality on both sides of the basketball and you just got to go from there.”
This game will also call for the Clippers to find a way to slow down Denver’s otherworldly center Nikoka Jokic, who after averaging a triple-double during the regular season (29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists) is averaging 28.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 10.8 assists in this series.
Zubac will be assigned to Jokic, like he has all season and in the playoffs. But the Clippers will send plenty of bodies Jokic’s way.
Zubac said the only way to not get discouraged is to “not get bored with the process.”
“It’s what he does,” Zubac said. “It’s what he’s been doing for years now and he averaged triple-double through the regular season. So, it’s what he does. That’s how they play, and that’s it.
“You shouldn’t be discouraged by looking at the other players’ stats. You should be discouraged if you’re down 20 or something. Like, you shouldn’t be discouraged when he got a triple-double and the score is good for us. So, we’re focused on winning. We’re not looking at the other player’s stats and being discouraged by them. We want to win the game.”
Still, Lue was asked what will the Clippers do differently on defense against Jokic now.
The Clippers played stingy defense and had six players score in double figures, rolling to a 117-83 win over the Denver Nuggets at the Intuit Dome on Thursday.
“We’ll see,” Lue said. “We’ll see tomorrow.”
The Clippers had two days off to recover from the sting of losing Game 4.
They got down by 22 points in the fourth quarter, took a one-point lead and then tied the score — only to have Jokic shoot an airball on a step-back three-pointer that Aaron Gordon caught by the rim and dunked as time expired.
“Sometimes basketball can be amazing and it can be cruel as well,” Nicholas Batum said. “We got to move on. It’s 2-2. We’re right where we’re supposed to be, both teams. Now we got to go out there [to Denver]. We done [won] it once, almost did it twice in their place. We have to go there, regroup, move on. It’s a tough one, but we still got a chance to win this series and we hope to take another one and come back here.”
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