Last week, it seemed the second-round series between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets would wrap up pretty quickly. Instead, in a stunning turn of events, we've got ourselves another Game 7 in the bubble. Late on Tuesday night, the Clippers and Nuggets will meet with a trip to the Western Conference finals on the line.
The Clippers jumped out to a 3-1 lead in this series without too much trouble, and have had double-digit advantages in Games 5 and 6. But so far, they haven't been able to put the Nuggets away. Now, they're all of a sudden facing a must-win Game 7 to keep their season and title aspirations alive.
Denver, meanwhile, has showed incredible resilience to continue fighting against such steep odds. After coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the Jazz in the first round, the Nuggets are one win away from pulling off the feat for the second time in the span of a few weeks.
Viewing Information
- Date: Tuesday, Sept. 15 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
- Location: Disney Wide World of Sports -- Orlando, Florida
- TV: ESPN I Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
- Odds: Clippers -7.5 | Over/Under: 207.5 (William Hill Sportsbook)
Storylines
Clippers: This series has been a pretty good summation of the Clippers experience this season. They are incredible talented, and it's easy to see why many have always considered them the favorites to win it all. When they're playing at their best, they're nearly impossible to stop. The problem is they haven't been able to reach that level on a consistent basis. They were up 3-1 in this series, were up 16 in Game 5 and were up 19 in Game 6, so they can clearly beat this Nuggets team as long as they don't beat themselves.
Nuggets: This Denver team is amazing. It's almost as if it keeps putting itself in more and more precarious positions just to see what it can come back from. The Nuggets were down 3-1 to the Jazz, trailed 3-1 in this series, and fell behind by double digits in Games 5 and 6. By all usual basketball standards, they should have been eliminated a long time ago. That they're still here is a testament to their determination.