Nuggets are 5-0 in Elimination Games Entering Game 7 vs Clippers

The Denver Nuggets are 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS over their last nine postseason games with a 5-0 SU and ATS record when facing elimination. After successfully erasing a 3-1 Utah Jazz series lead with three straight wins, the Nuggets will be looking to do the same against the Los Angeles Clippers with a win on Tuesday night in Game 7.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Nuggets opened as 6.5-point underdogs to pull off the upset, but early action has come in on the Clippers to close out the series, bumping the line up to Los Angeles -7.5. The Clippers closed as 7.5-point favorites in Game 5 (which they lost 111-105) and Game 6 (which they lost 111-98). The total has moved slightly from its opener of 208 points down to 207.5 points.

Denver News & Notes

This Denver team has no quit. The Nuggets were down 16 at the half in Game 6 and down by as many as 19 points in the third quarter. But in a spot where many teams would have folded up shop against a higher-seeded opponent, Denver not only erased the deficit but pulled away late in the game in a 111-98 blowout.

Nikola Jokic ended the night with 34 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. The Clippers haven’t had much of an answer for the versatile big man in this best-of-seven series; since scoring only 15 points with three rebounds and three assists in Game 1, Jokic has averaged 28 points, 13.8 rebounds and six assists per game over the last five games in this series. Denver is 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS over that stretch.

Los Angeles News & Notes

The Clippers as a franchise have never been to the Western Conference final and are now 0-7 SU all-time in games with a chance to eliminate their opponent in the second round. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have ushered in a new era of Clippers basketball in Los Angeles, but they suddenly find themselves just one loss away from repeating the same disappointments of the past.

Not that this falls on Leonard and George. The two superstars combined to score 58 points in Game 6 and 62 points in Game 5. Key members of Los Angeles’s supporting cast including Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell have all performed well below expectations in this series. The Clippers are one of the deepest teams in the NBA on paper, but they will need to show it on the court Tuesday to avoid another upset loss.