Game two looked a lot like game one between the Nuggets and Clippers, but this time the result was flipped. LA pulled out the 105-102, and now the series heads out west with things tied at a game apiece.
In game one, the Nuggets made the big plays down the stretch while the Clippers faltered late, but in game two, the script was reversed. Denver had multiple brutal turnovers in the final minutes, and the Clips took advantage, sewing things up with clutch baskets.
One of the biggest differences in the two games was the play of Kawhi Leonard. In the first game, he was solid, but not dominant. He scored 22 points on 9/15 shooting, but was constantly hounded and committed 7 costly turnovers, struggling to make an impact late in the game.
Game two couldn’t have played out more differently. Leonard completely took over, looking like a vintage version of himself, getting whatever he wanted in isolation, and putting on a ridiculous display of shot-making all the way down to the game’s final basket, which put the Clippers up by 3 with under a minute to play.
He scored 39 points on an absurd 15/19 shooting and turned the ball over just once. He was able to operate freely with the ball and got to his spots all night, getting into as good a rhythm as you’ll see for a player in an NBA playoff game.
Nuggets must sell out to get the ball out of Leonard’s hands
Kawhi is a proven playoff killer, and he looks like he’s back in that old mode. He’s the one guy who can sink the Nuggets and go toe-to-toe with them in crunch time. If there’s one player that Denver has to take away at all costs, it’s Leonard, and that was on full display in game two.
Leonard, James Harden, Ivica Zubac, and Norman Powell combined to score 86 of the Clippers’ 105 points in game two. The Nuggets must force the other guys to beat them, and that means sending extra help toward Leonard or Harden when they have the ball.
One of Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Ben Simmons, Bogdan Bogdanovic, or Nicolas Batum is on the floor at all times. Those are the guys that Denver needs to cheat off of and force action. Simmons, Dunn, and DJJ are questionable shooters at best. Bogey and Batum can burn you, but that’s something you can live with.
What you can’t live with is another vintage Kawhi Leonard performance where he gets into his bag and pull-up shoots you to death. Adjustments have to be made, and something has to be done to get him out of his comfort zone and make him give up the ball and live with the results.