LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Denver Nuggets dominated the Los Angeles Clippers 120-101 in the do-or-die Game Seven of their National Basketball Association (NBA) playoff series on Saturday to set up a second-round clash with Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City.
Aaron Gordon scored 22 points, Christian Braun added 21 and NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, whose balanced attack and stout defense was too much for the Clippers.
The Clippers — who roared into the playoffs winning 18 of their last 21 regular-season games — had fended off elimination with a convincing game-six victory on Thursday.
But any momentum they had evaporated amid another dismal performance from James Harden.
Harden scored just seven points, connecting on two of his eight shot attempts.
Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points to lead the Clippers, who emerged from a tight first quarter with a 26-21 lead.
It briefly looked like it would be another close game between teams that finished the regular season with identical 50-32 records.
But the Nuggets put up 37 points in the second quarter to seize control and continued to pile it on in the third, when a 17-0 Nuggets run pushed the lead to 75-50.
The Nuggets led 93-66 going into the fourth quarter, and even with Jokic sitting down after he was whistled for his third, fourth and fifth fouls late in the third period the Clippers could make no meaningful inroads.