You can’t keep a great player down for long, as the Denver Nuggets have learned as they look to stave off elimination Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers. Kawhi Leonard has rebounded from a dismal showing in Game 2 with back-to-back gems, including a 30-point near triple-double in the Clippers’ 96-85 win that moved L.A. to within one victory of a berth in the conference final.
- Date/Time: September 11, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Arena: HP Field House
- TV Coverage: TNT
- Sportsbook Odds: Clippers -8 | O/U 217 (Line History)
- Nuggets vs Clippers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Clippers are hefty favorites to end this series in Game 5; the -8 Sportsbook line hasn’t budged. The total has only moved down a half-point from an Sportsbook of 217.
Denver News & Notes
The Nuggets are at the point where they need to play nearly flawless basketball to have any chance at victory – and that just didn’t happen Wednesday. They shot below 40 percent from the floor while committing 17 turnovers en route to scoring fewer than 100 points for the second time in the series. Denver was also bullied in the paint, losing that battle by a 38-22 scoring margin.
The X factor for the Nuggets in Game 5 is guard Jamal Murray, who has had a much more difficult time of it against the Clippers than he did in torching the Utah Jazz in Round 1. Murray has been held to 17.8 points per game while shooting 38.2 percent from the floor. He has, however, been a solid distributor by averaging 7.0 assists per game through the first four games.
Los Angeles News & Notes
When your best player averages nearly 30-10 with 5.7 assists in the postseason, you’re probably in good shape. Kawhi Leonard has officially taken his game to a new level over the past two outings, pulling down 25 rebounds while dishing out 15 assists to help the Clippers pull away in the series. He’s also shooting a blistering 51.5 percent on more than 20 attempts per game.
If the Clippers do have an area that needs improvement as a team, it’s the three-point shooting, which sits at an eye-Sportsbook 28.8 percent through the first four games. Lou Williams is a guy to monitor in this regard: the reserve guard has made just two of 16 attempts from deep in the series, one of the major reasons why he’s averaging 11.3 points (well below his regular-season mark of 18.2).
Betting Pick: UNDER 216.5 (-110)
Possessions were at a premium in Game 4 – and we can’t help but wonder if this is the way the rest of the series will play out, with both teams committing greater resources to point prevention. It’s a chance we’re willing to take.
- Denver is 6-2 ATS in its past 8 games.
- Los Angeles is 13-6 ATS in its last 19 games.
- The UNDER is 5-0 in Los Angeles’s last 5 games.
