Complete victory! Jokic 16+10+8, Leonard 22+5+2, Westbrook sets a record, goodbye Harden

On May 4, 2025, in the first round of the playoffs, the Nuggets faced the Clippers at home. Who can win this life-and-death battle? Nuggets starter: Murray + Braun + Porter + Gordon + Jokic, the Clippers change their team, Jones replaces Dunn to starter, and the Clippers starter: Harden + Powell + Leonard + Jones + Zubac.

In the first quarter, Zubac made a layup + Jones scored 4 points in a row, the Clippers 6-0, Braun scored 5 points in a row, Jones made a three-pointer, the Clippers 9-5, Gordon made a layup after the timeout, Powell made a layup, Jokic, Murray and Porter scored 2 points in a row, Leonard made a layup, Porter made a layup, Nuggets scored 2 points in a row, Leonard and Batum scored 5 points in a row, Braun scored 4 points in a row, Bogdan and Harden scored 5 points in a row, 6-0, 5 points in a row, Watson made a layup, Zubac took a hook, and the Clippers took a lead 26-21 after the first quarter.

The second quarter, Gordon, Watson and Westbrook overtook 2 points 7-0, Leonard made 2 free throws, Westbrook made 2 free throws, and then stole Harden's pass, and Gordon made a dunk, the Nuggets led 3 points, and the timeout came back Zubac hookup, Jokic and Watson made 2 three-pointers in a row, the Nuggets led 7 points, Leonard scored 6 points in a row, Braun made a tip-in + Westbrook three-pointer, the Nuggets led 6 points, Zubac and Harden scored 6 points, Zubac and Harden scored 6 points, Jokic and Gordon responded, the Nuggets led 5 points, Powell's mid-range shot, Murray, Westbrook and Gordon scored 7 points in a row, the Nuggets led 10 points, Harden's mid-range shot, Jokic and Murray scored 4 points in a row, and the score difference reached 12 points, Leonard made a mid-range shot, Murray made 1 of 2 free throws, and the Nuggets led 58-47 after the halftime.

Jokic scored 9 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in the first half, Westbrook scored 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, Gordon scored 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Braun scored 11 points, 5 rebounds. On the Clippers, Leonard scored 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Harden scored 7 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals, and 10 assists in the half-time set a career playoff record, and Zubac scored 8 points and 12 rebounds.

The third quarter, Leonard made three-pointers, Jokic, Braun and Gordon scored 7 points in a row, the Nuggets led 15 points, and the Clippers could not score after the suspension. Porter scored 2 three-pointers + Gordon's tip-off, the difference reached 23 points, Gordon came back from the suspension. Gordon's mid-range shot, the Nuggets led 25 points, Powell and Jones scored, Murray, Jokic, and Gordon responded, the difference was 28 points, Jones and Leonard made 3 free throws, Braun made a layup, the difference was 27 points, Bogdan made a mid-range shot, Braun made a three-pointer, the difference was 28 points, the referee called Jokic for three fouls in less than a minute, Jokic was replaced in 5 fouls, Leonard made 1 of 2 free throws + Jones made a layup, the difference was 25 points, Murray scored 4 points in a row, the difference was 29 points, Powell made a layup, and the Nuggets led 93-66 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Porter, Murray and Jordan Jr., the Nuggets led 33 points, Zubac dunk after the suspension, Porter and Westbrook scored 4 points in a row, with a score difference of 35 points, Bogdan scored 5 points alone + Brown's layup, the score difference reached 27 points, Gordon returned from the suspension, with a score difference of 31 points, Miller and Brown scored, Murray and Gordon responded, the score difference was 30 points, and there were 5 left in the game After more than a minute, the Nuggets withdrew their main force. Miller, Christie and Brown scored a gap of 23 points in more than one minute. The Nuggets quickly paused. After the timeout, the Nuggets replaced the main force again. Jokic made a mid-range shot, with a gap of 25 points, Brown and Dunn 8-0, and the gap reached 17 points. Braun made 2 free throws, Brown made a layup, and the gap was still 17 points. There were 2 minutes left in the game. The Nuggets replaced the main force again, and in the end, the Nuggets defeated the Clippers 120-101.

Jokic scored 6 of 14 and scored 16 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, Murray scored 7 of 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Braun scored 8 of 15 (3 of 3 points, 5) scored 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Gordon scored 9 of 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, Porter scored 6 of 11 (3 of 8 three points, 8) scored 15 points and 6 rebounds, Westbrook scored 5 of 9 (2 of 4 three points, 4), and scored 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, and the number of steals set a career playoff record in the Nuggets. He made great contributions to the Nuggets' promotion.

Leonard made 6 of 13 (2 of 4 three-pointers) scored 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, Harden made 2 of 8 scored 7 points, 5 rebounds, 13 assists and 2 steals, Zubac made 5 of 10 scored 10 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists, Jones made 5 of 10 scored 12 points, 2 rebounds and 3 blocks, Brown made 6 of 7 scored 13 points and 3 assists, Bogdan made 5 of 9 scored 12 points and 3 rebounds.

Nuggets won the tiebreak battle and advanced to the second round. They will play against the Thunder. The Thunder has been resting for a long time and is full of energy. The Nuggets are not as physically and in lineup depth as the Thunder. Can the Nuggets compete with the Thunder? The Clippers lost the tiebreak battle and were eliminated in the first round again. It may be difficult for Harden to realize his dream of winning the championship when he stayed in the Clippers.