Nuggets Demolish Clippers, onto 2nd Round; Warriors-Rockets Game 7; Pacers-Cavaliers Preview

Friday night, the Houston Rockets locked in in the fourth quarter (the Rockets led 86-84 heading into the fourth and started the quarter on a 20-5 run) on their way to a 115-107 victory at Chase Center to force a seventh game against the Golden State Warriors. Fred VanVleet scored 29 points and had 8 assists and 8 rebounds. Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Jimmy Butler 27. Game 7 takes place in Houston on Sunday night. 

Saturday night, the Denver Nuggets decimated the Los Angeles Clippers, the latter who delivered a lifeless performance with their season on the line. The Nuggets led 93-66 after three quarters and the final score of 120-101 was not indicative of how the game went. The Nuggets will face the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday at Paycom Center in Game 1. 

The Nuggets came out on Saturday with energy, knowing that they needed the win to advance. The Clippers came out after the first quarter (they held a 26-21 lead) with less urgency and proceeded to get run out of the gym. The Clippers were out for a light jog. The Nuggets were sprinting, in full lather.

The Clippers were outscored 72-40 in quarters two and three combined, with Kawhi Leonard the only player in a navy colored uniform to score above 20 points. Leonard scored 22 points with 5 rebounds and 2 blocks on 6-for-13 shooting. James Harden shot just eight times, with two makes, for 7 points, though he did have 13 assists. Harden, in his last five career elimination games, is averaging 13 points on 31% shooting.

Derrick Jones Jr. was 5-for-10 for 12 points, and center Ivica Zubac was 5-for-10 for 10 points and 14 rebounds. Norman Powell shot 4-for-11 for 9 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic was 5-for-9 for 12 points off the bench, and ironically the high scorer for the Clippers other than Leonard was Kobe Brown, a 25-year-old who spent this season with the Clippers' G-League affiliate in San Diego. Saturday night, Brown was 6-for-7 in eight minutes for 13 points, in a time in the game when the Clipper bench gave high energy and effort and cut significantly into the over 30-point deficit. 

The Nuggets received contributions from everyone - 22 points from Aaron Gordon, 21 points from Christian Braun, 16 points from Jamal Murray, 16 points from Russell Westbrook off the bench, 16 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds from Nikola Jokic (6-for-14) and 15 points from Michael Porter Jr. Collectively, the Nuggets shot 52.2%, and out-rebounded the Clippers 46-36. 

Westbrook particularly played like he took personal the fact that the Clippers let him go in the off-season. In addition to his points, Westbrook had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. After he stole the ball from Zubac and soared for a transition slam, Westbrook hung on the rim for an excessive number of seconds, and upon landing, encouraged the official to give him a technical foul. He was hyped and he was hypnotic. He did not care. He played an excellent game. 

The Warriors and Rockets will engage Sunday night in what should be the antithesis of the Game 7 that we saw on Saturday night.

The Rockets are all about youth, athleticism, and defense, and the Warriors have the heavy experience edge for such games with the likes of Butler, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green. Butler and Dillon Brooks has been a must-watch battle of wills, and the Warriors have received quality outings from the likes of Brandon Podziemski and Quinten Post throughout the series.

The Warriors will need contributions from all, as will the Rockets. Houston dominated in the fourth quarter on Friday night, and will need that same energy on Sunday, which they probably will bring in front of their home crowd. The Rockets being at home, their defensive mindset, the fact that they have won two in a row and are going for three in a row against a team with such an experience advantage, makes for a fascinating game. VanVleet will need to play big once again, as will Sengun. Jalen Green needs to deliver. You know Curry and Butler will. Expect one of the best games of the postseason. 

Earlier on Sunday, at 6:30 p.m., the Indiana Pacers will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series from Rocket Arena. 

Cavaliers (1) vs. Pacers (4) 

The two teams have met in 15 playoff series’, with the Cavaliers victorious in nine of them. The last meeting was in the first round of the 2018 playoffs, a series the Cavaliers won in seven games.

Cleveland, the conference’s top seed at 64-18, impressively swept the Miami Heat in round one, with no margin of victory closer than nine. They won Game 1 by a 121-100 score, Game 2 by a score of 121-112, and won Games 3 and 4 124-87 and 138-83. 

The Pacers, 50-32 in the regular season, defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 in the first round, winning their games by 19, 8, 26, and Game 5 by a one-point margin thanks to an 8-0 run in overtime. 

In the regular season, the Pacers took three of four against the top-seeded Cavaliers, prevailing 108-93, 114-112, and 126-118 (two overtimes). The Cavaliers’ lone victory over their division rival came two nights after the 15-point loss, a 127-117 win on January 14. 

The Cavaliers finished the regular season best in the league in points per game (121.9) and offensive rating (121.0), while second in field-goal percentage (49.1), 3-point percentage (38.3), and 3-pointers made (15.9). The Cavaliers also finished third in opponent field-goal percentage (45.4), fourth in 3-pointers attempted (41.5), and fifth in rebounding (45.4) and defensive rebounding (34.2). In defensive rating, the Cavaliers ranked 8th (111.8) and were 10th in free-throws made at an even 17 per game. 

The Pacers during the regular season ranked in the top 10 in points (117.4, 7th), offensive rating (115.4, 9th), field-goal percentage (48.8, 3rd), 3-point percentage (36.8, 9th), made the same amount of free-throws per game as the Cavaliers (17.0) and were ninth in free-throw percentage (78.9).

The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was dominant against the Pacers, averaging 33.0 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game on 60.6% from the field. Thankfully for the Pacers, the Cavaliers do not have anyone of Antetekounmpo’s ilk.

What the Cavaliers do possess is an incredibly well-rounded team that has stellar guard play, a traditional power forward-center combination (Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen) that rebounds, defends, and runs, and a strong bench with De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome leading it. 

The Pacers have a solid backcourt in their own right with Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith is a quality forward who shot 13-for-27 from 3-point range in the opening round. Pascal Siakam is an all-star caliber forward who can defend and score. TJ McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin provide the Pacers’ with a spark off the bench, as can Obi Toppin. 

The Cavaliers have a major advantage on the interior, with Mobley and Allen a difficult match-up for Myles Turner - who does not rebound well for a center (6.5 per game during the regular season; the Pacers as a team averaged 41.8 in the regular season) - and Siakam, who does not have the size of Mobley. Siakam does have championship experience though, and Haliburton and Darius Garland (Garland is questionable for Sunday with a toe injury) is a high level duel between two all-stars. Nembhard will really have to dig in against Mitchell, who averaged 23.8 points on 47.8% shooting in the first round. Both benches will produce well. Both teams protect the ball - nine turnovers per game in the postseason for the Cavaliers, 10 per game for the Pacers. Mobley and Allen will be the difference makers. Cavaliers in 6.