After two electrifying NBA playoff games in Denver, the heavyweight first-round matchup between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers was tied heading back to LA for Game 3.
While everyone had their popcorn ready to watch The Joker and The Klaw try to give their teams a pivotal 2-1 series lead, there was just one major problem: Game 3 of the most compelling first-round series was broadcast on… NBA TV. Huh?
For the many die-hard Nuggets fans who live in the Denver Market, Game 3 was blacked out, and they were unable to watch the biggest game of the season.
Barkley rips TNT for putting game on NBA TV
During TNT’s postgame coverage on Wednesday night, Host Ernie Johnson did a promo for the Thursday slate of games. After seeing the network’s schedule, Charles Barkley did a double-take and went on a must-see rant on how insane it is that the Nuggets and Clippers were being shown on Turner’s secondary channel.
“Are y'all serious right now… y'all got the best series going on NBA TV.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 24, 2025
Charles Barkley was not impressed that the Memphis-Thunder game is on TNT over the Clippers-Nuggets game 👀
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/fQpfV1cf3W
While Ernie Johnson tried to defend Turner by saying that the Network’s schedules for Games 1-4 are chosen before the round starts, it still doesn’t excuse the fact that the Best Player in the World and a healthy Kawhi Leonard have no business playing on NBA TV.
The Chuckster made it quite clear he planned on watching the Nuggets and Clippers game instead of the series they were supposed to be covering. And while his sarcastic question of whether or not they get NBA TV in the green room was pretty funny, for Nuggets fans who didn't have access to Game 3, the situation wasn’t funny at all. It was simply unfair.
Most people (including myself) wholeheartedly agreed with Barkley. The first two games between the Nuggets and Clippers were decided by two and then three points, while the Thunder had beaten the Grizzlies by a combined seventy points in Games 1 and 2.
NBA and TNT got the last laugh
Ironically, Turner Sports ended up making the right decision, as the Nuggets got blasted by the Clippers in Game 3 and put up a measly 83 points in an embarrassing 34-point loss, while the Thunder miraculously came back from a 29-point deficit in a 114-108 thriller.
If the broken Nuggets show up for Game 4 with a repeat performance of their pathetic showing on Thursday Night, most fans are going to turn the TV off at halftime, regardless of the channel.