Get ready for Sunday’s Game 6 between the Clippers and Nuggets with 10 keys stats to know about the matchup.
Game 6: LA Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets (LAC Leads 3-2), 1:00 ET
- With their season on the line in Game 5, the Nuggets overcame a 16-point deficit to keep their season alive with a 11-105 win. Denver outscored LA 38-25 in the the fourth quarter to cap off their comeback; it was the second time this postseason that the Nuggets have rallied from at least 15 points down in an elimination game.
- The Nuggets are now 4-0 in elimination games in this year’s playoffs, as they also faced a 3-1 deficit in the opening round against Utah. In those elimination games, the Nuggets have averaged 106.8 points and shot 47.5% from the field and 41.9% from beyond the arc, while allowing only 99.3 points.
- Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 26 points in Game 5; he shot just 4-18 (22.2%) on 2-point shots, but 5-7 (71.4%) on 3-point shots, including a perfect 3-3 in the fourth quarter.
- Denver rookie Michael Porter Jr. single handedly outscored the Clippers in the final 1:11 of Game 5. After being held scoreless in his first 21 minutes of action, Porter knocked down a clutch 3-pointer with 1:11 to play to put Denver up by 5. He would knock down four free throws in the final minute to finish with 7 points, compared to the Clippers’ 5.
- Paul Millsap was key for the Nuggets in Game 5 as he sparked the rally in the third quarter with 14 of his 17 points coming in the period. The veteran forward in his 14th NBA season has played in more playoff games (113) than the rest of the Nuggets starting lineup combined (101; Grant 28, Jokic 26, Harris 21, Murray 26).
- The Clippers lost for only the third time in 16 games this season when they knocked down at least 16 3-pointers. While they finished 16-42 (38.1%) for the game, the Clippers shot just 3-13 (23.1%) from three in the fourth quarter after shooting 13-29 (44.8%) through the first three periods.
- Kawhi Leonard finished with a game-high 36 points in Game 5, raising his scoring average for the playoffs to 29.8 points per game, the highest for any player that advanced past the first round and fourth overall.
- The Clippers are still waiting for a breakout game from super-sub Lou Williams in this series. After averaging 16 points on 50.7% FG, 33.3% 3P shooting in the first round against Dallas, Williams has averaged just 9.8 points on 35.1% (20-57) FG, 9.5% (2-21) 3P shooting against the Nuggets.
- In addition to his team-high 26 points on offense, Jamal Murray was also solid on defense as he held his matchups to 11 points on 4-13 (30.8%) FG and 2-7 (28.6%) 3P shooting in Game 5. Lou Williams, Marcus Morris, Paul George and Landry Shamet all went scoreless against Murray in at least one minute of defensive matchup time.
- Denver’s bench outscored the Clippers’ bench 29-16 in Game 5, marking the first time in the series that the Nuggets reserves outscored the Clippers reserves. In the first four games of the series, the Clippers bench had outscored the Nuggets bench by a total of 27 points.
