The first-round series in the 2025 NBA Playoff between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers certainly lived up to the hype, and it ended on a high note for the Nuggets as they thoroughly dominated L.A. with a 120-101 Game 7 win in Denver on Saturday. That sends the Nuggets into the second round, where they’ll meet the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
The first two games went down to the wire with the Nuggets taking Game 1 in overtime and the Clippers pulling out Game 2 in a thriller to send the series back to Los Angeles tied at 1-1. Game 3 was a far more lopsided affair as the Clippers cruised to a 117-83 victory to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 was an absolute classic, with Aaron Gordon’s last-second putback dunk giving the Nuggets a 101-99 win to tie the series.
The Nuggets then took a 3-2 lead after a 131-115 win in Game 5 on Tuesday night before the Clippers responded on Thursday with a [111-105 win at home in Game 6]. That set up Denver’s surprisingly comfortable Game 7 win.
The Clippers now head into the offseason with plenty of questions. The stars seemingly aligned with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, a productive James Harden and a breakout season from Ivica Zubac – and yet they still weren’t able to get out of the first round. An obvious path for improvement isn’t there, so they might have no choice but to run it back with a similar roster next year.
