Clippers vs Nuggets G7 Preview: Small Card Peak vs. Jokic Harden is willing to play 48 minutes in a life-and-death battle

At 7:30 a.m. Beijing time on May 4, the Nuggets played against the Clippers at home and started a tie-breaker. Will the stars who will meet the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals be Harden and Jr., or Jokic and Murray?

A tie-breaker that both the Nuggets and the Clippers have had similar experiences. It's the Nuggets' fourth tiebreaker since the 2019 playoffs, but not every time it's been a good memory. In the tie-break after that, they had a 2-1 record. The most recent experience came last season, when they suffered a painful loss at home to the Timberwolves after leading by 20 points in the second half.

"We're going to look back at that game and learn from it," Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said, "but it's a new moment and we're playing against a different team." ”

This different team features future Hall of Fame-caliber stars Harden and Leonard. In the G6 Clippers' 111-105 win over the Nuggets, the duo played well. Harden swept away the slump of the previous two games, scoring 28 points, while Leonard contributed 27 points.

Prior to that G6 victory, Harden hadn't won a game facing elimination since the 2020 Orlando Park game, when he was still playing for the Rockets, and he has been criticized for his performance in the playoffs since. However, that didn't affect the trust that his Clippers teammates had in him.

"He's been through this," Leonard said of Harden, "and players are bound to have bad times during the season. It's just another game, so I know he's going to get back into shape, he's going to play aggressively and try to find his rhythm. ”

The 35-year-old Harden only had a one-minute break in G6 and is willing to give it his all again in the tiebreaker. 'Whenever the team needs to, play 47 minutes, 48 minutes, even extra time, whatever – I'm willing to do it.' Harden said.

The Clippers have a 4-1 all-time tiebreaker in the first round of the playoffs, but they have won only once on the road since 1978. The last time the Clippers had a tiebreaker was in 2021, when they defeated the visiting Mavericks in the first round and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, the team's first time in the division finals.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue made a key change in the second half of G6 that will likely carry over into the tiebreaker. Lue started Batum, who was taller and more versatile, in the third quarter. The 2.03-meter-tall veteran has only scored six points, but he has been able to defend Nuggets stars Jokic and Murray while serving as an outside threat to create opportunities for Harden and Kawhi Leonard to break through to the interior.

"Batum shoots a lot better than Dunn," Jokic said, "and Batum is also a great defender who can defend players from the No. 1 to the No. 5 position. I don't think with Batum they don't have any flaws on the defensive end. They are likely to start him again for the next game. ”

This is the second time the two teams have met in a tie-break. In the 2020 Orlando campus game, the Nuggets won that tie-break and completed a big comeback after falling behind 1-3 in the series. The Clippers at the time had Leonard and Zubac on their lineup; At that time, only Jokic, Murray and Michael Porter Jr. were still on the Nuggets lineup.

List of injuries and illnesses

Clippers: All players are available

Nuggets: Holmes is out

ESPN Predicted Win Rate:Clippers 43.7%, Nuggets 56.3%