The Los Angeles Clippers staved off elimination with a tough 111-105 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at the Intuit Dome, evening the best-of-7 series at 3-3 and creating a winner-takes-all Game 7 in Denver on Saturday.
After a competitive first half, the Clippers seized control with a superb third quarter, in which they outscored the defending champions by 32-22. It left them with a double-digit lead heading into the final frame, which grew to 15 with just under six minutes remaining.
Denver, behind Nikola Jokic’s 25 points and a near triple-double from Jamal Murray (21 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists), mounted a late rally that cut the lead to 5 in the final minute. But the Clippers held on in the final seconds for the victory.
“I mean, it was win or go home — and we didn’t want to go home,” James Harden said after playing an important part in the victory.
Denver interim coach David Adelman acknowledged that the veering third quarter made the difference: “We got sped up and that quarter absolutely killed us.
Game 7 will take place on Saturday in Denver, with a trip to the conference finals at stake.
